Nagaland Holds First-Ever ‘King Chilli Festival’

Nagaland Holds First-Ever ‘King Chilli Festival’: At Seiyhama village in the Kohima District, Nagaland celebrates the first-ever “Naga Mircha (King Chilli) Festival.” The Department of Horticulture organized the event. Naga Mircha was the first item to get a GI tag from Nagaland.

First-Ever ‘King Chilli Festival’: Key Points

• The event was attended by NDPP President, 11th Northern Angami-2 Assembly Constituency, Vibeilietuo Kets.
• As the State possesses a variety of agro-climatic conditions with significant areas suited for horticultural crops, Nagaland has the potential to become a Land of Horticulture.
• Vibeilietuo Kets said that there’s a huge scope in this sector because of the diversification factor and huge returns compared to the agricultural sector. The Seiyhama’s Naga Mircha is of high quality, and villagers should start planning their market control by growing the chilli on a huge scale so that it may be sold at lower prices all year long.
• Botsa block has been selected by the Horticulture Department as the focus location for Naga Mircha production, which will span over 100 hectares.
• Currently, 200 households are working to cultivate Naga mircha. The community collected 27 lakh rupees in revenue last year, and it anticipates earning three times that amount this year.
• The achievement and advantages gained have also inspired the educated unemployed youth of the village to participate in the Naga Mircha Cultivation.

Naga Mircha

• The Naga Chilli, also known as Raja Mircha, is a native crop of Nagaland that is widely grown in Peren, Mon, Kohima, and Dimapur. It is thought to have originated in the Zeliangrong region of Nagaland.
• Naga Mircha (King Chilli) is often regarded as the hottest chilli in the world and has also been consistently ranked in the top five SHU-based chillies worldwide.
• This chilli is also known as “Raja Mircha,” “Bhoot Jolokia,” or “Ghost Pepper”.
• Naga Mircha received Geographical Indication (GI) recognition in 2008. It is a member of the Solanaceae family’s genus Capsicum.
• It is small in size and turns into bright red colour as it matures. Because it is very susceptible to weather conditions, the crop needs to be put in soil with the ideal amount of water for germination and the ideal amount of sunlight to reach its flaming best.
• The ideal place for Naga chilli production is across bamboo and banana plantations, and also where the crops have been grown for many years. In order to assure the best soil quality and a higher level of heat in the chillies, these bamboo fields are cut and burned before cultivation.
• First product to receive a GI tag from Nagaland was Naga Mircha.

GI Tag

• Geographical Indication is a designation or sign given to a particular product that has a special connection to geographic areas. The GI tags are typically applied to industrial goods, food, agricultural goods, alcoholic beverages, and handicrafts.
• A product or sign with a GI tag is special, has distinguishing characteristics, was created using conventional techniques, and upholds the reputation of the area. This tag might also be seen as a safeguard against any type of copyright violation.
• The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) governs GI on a global scale.
• In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force with effect from September 2003.
• According to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographic indications are protected as a part of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).
• The Darjeeling Tea was the first product in India that was given a GI tag around 2004-2005.
• List of a few products with GI Tags is given below:

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