FAO highlights added value of geographical indications in agricultural products’ labelling

Geographical indication (GI) schemes help protect food products and produce that are characteristic to specific geographic areas. Giving certain foods special labels that are linked to their place of origin can play a special role in promoting sustainable rural development, improving farm income, and widening export opportunities. Common products include fruits, dairy and meat products (such as cheese and ham), and drinks, among many others.

FAO held an expert roundtable discussion on GI drawing on the analysis and recommendations in its recent publications titled “An overview of legal and institutional frameworks and opportunities, challenges and recommendations for geographical indication products in Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation” and “Geographical indication schemes in Croatia, Hungary and Poland”.

The workshop spearheaded by FAO’s Moscow office and held at the Central Scientific Agricultural Library (CNSHB) fit into the context of FAO’s region-wide efforts to improve agrifood trade and market integration.

“Based on the cases reviewed, FAO recommends that decision makers and prospective producer groups get proactive and work together to improve their national frameworks for geographical indication schemes,” FAO Policy Officer Dmitry Zvyagintsev said addressing the audience.

“This could include, among others, developing a national vision and action plan on GIs, with clear and transparent guidelines; establishing codes of practices, quality assurance mechanisms, and appropriate marketing plans,” Zvyagintsev underlined.

If established well, with consolidated enforcement mechanisms, labels on geographic origins can ensure quality for consumers, additional visibility and higher income for farmers, and contribution to rural development.

Success can also require flexibility from authorities (food safety agencies, for instance), as the preparation of some regional and traditional products may require the introduction of specific rules (“derogations”) to allow certain traditional food production and processing practices, while at the same time assuring the safety of the product.

The Russian Federation, as noted in the FAO report, has a wealth of food products and recipes that consumers associate with a specific place of production. Many quality characteristics of these products derive from natural factors such as climate, the geographical location of farmlands, endemic plants and traditional animal breeds. These products include produce, processed food, mineral water, spirits and wine.

Here are a few examples: Moscow Bun (which has a certain recipe and a specific form), Gorodetsky gingerbread (named for a town in the Nizhny Novgorod region), Vyazma gingerbread (named for a town in the Smolensk region), Kostroma cheese (which has its own recipe and is produced from local milk in the region of Kostroma), Tambov ham (the most well-known Russian ham and an example of the old Russian cuisine), Bashkirian honey (honey traditionally made in the region of Bashkiria), Krasnodar tea (coming from the main tea-growing region in the south of Russia), Vologda butter (milked from cows feeding on the green pastures in the north of European Russia) and also Adygeyski cheese, Mozhayskoye milk, Derbent and Kizlyar brandy (Dagestan), Astrakhan tomatoes, Arsenyevsky marshmallow, etc.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation specifies four types of intellectual property protection that can be used for geographical names or symbols in Russia: trade names, trademarks and service marks, commercial designations and appellations of origin (AO).

Interagency work is underway to introduce geographical indications in the national legislation, and thereby help align the national framework to international standards. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) lead the process.

Based on the key findings in the countries of the Europe and Central Asia region, FAO’s stance on the issue of GIs is shaped by the following messages: 

• There is a need for institutions with responsibilities in the GI field to establish a permanent constructive dialogue for sharing information, experiences and best practices.
• Comprehensive inclusive national quality policies focused on the development and promotion of local products with geographical indications should be formulated.
• Financial support and technical assistance in areas such as legal, production, marketing, etc. should be provided to the groups of producers of quality products with geographical indications.
• Producers should receive clear and transparent guidelines for GI protection and use.
• The national legislation should provide flexibility and derogations, allowing smallholders and traditional products to comply with food-safety regulation.

Moreover, in its recent publication on “Strengthening sustainable food systems through geographical indications” FAO has observed that GI value chains generate new jobs and services in rural areas, contribute to increased rural income, and slow down out-migration among rural populations. By using GIs, farmers can better compete on price, quality and accessing new markets and build brand recognition and attractiveness to tourists.

The co-presenters at the event came from the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and the National Union of Food Exporters (NSEP). The ensuing discussion involved experts from the private sector, industry associations, academic institutions and other stakeholders.

To date, 196 appellations of origin (AO) have been registered in Russia, of which 160 are Russian and 31 are foreign. For comparison, in Russia only 160 AOs are protected while in the EU – more than 3000. “In Russia, AOs are registered in the categories of mineral water (78), folk arts and crafts (41), food products (29) and alcoholic beverages (9). Among them – Vologda butter, Astrakhan sturgeon caviar and Kamchatka salmon,” said Anna Rogoleva, Head of Department of legal provision of state services of Rospatent.

However, in Russia there are some difficulties in the legal protection of appellations of origin, caused, in particular, by low levels of awareness among the population, desire of the manufacturers to be a monopoly and insufficient legal regulation, said Anna Rogoleva.

In turn, Dmitry Bulatov, President of the National Union of Food Exporters, informed that they have set up a working group on the export of goods with protected geographical indications (GIs). The main activities of the working group include work on: providing state support for the promotion of organic products and goods from GIs/AOs to the domestic and foreign markets; development of common logos for exported goods from Russia with GIs/AOs; development of mechanisms for the promotion of domestic goods with these logos, etc.

Dmitry Zvyagintsev cited statistics on the European Union for 2012: 80% of all products with GIs come from France and four Mediterranean countries – Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece.

The discussion frequently cited the example of France, where more than 700 products are labeled with a geographical indication. “This aspect of [France’s] agricultural policy is recognized as very successful and is based on three principles,” – intoned in his speech Alexandre Martinez, Councilor on Agriculture of the Embassy of France in Moscow.

“First of all, it is trust. Trust of consumers for whom GI is synonymous with quality. Secondly, it is a manifestation of a consistent state policy as a guarantee that the product has passed the appropriate tests – it was created in a certain geographical area, characterized by special properties of soil and climate, and that there was no breach of production technology. Thirdly, it is an evidence of a “collective approach” because the GI cannot be an individual property. GI is a collective property that is being passed from one generation to another.”

The roundtable discussion was broadcast live on the CNSHB website.