Guwahati: The indigenous Boka Chaul (Oryza sativa) or Assamese soft-rice is the latest natural produce from Assam to be registered with the Geographical Indications (GI) tag.

This is the only product after Muga silk, Joha rice and Tezpur litchi to be registered as GI.

Boka Chaul is mostly cultivated in Nalbari, Barpeta, Goalpara, Baksa, Kamrup, Dhubri, Kokrajhar and Darrang districts of lower Assam. It is a winter rice or sali, which is sown from the third and fourth week of June.

This native variety of rice is unique because it requires no fuel to cook and can be eaten by just soaking it in water at room temperature. It is known for its nutrition and is consumed during summer because of its cooling effect.

Nalbari-based Lotus Progressive Centre (LPC), a local NGO involved in the promotion and preservation of native variety of rice in and around the district, and Centre for Environment Education (CEE) were the applicants for the GI registry of the Boka Chaul. They had applied for the GI tag in 2016. "It was only on Monday that we got to know. It is a work of four years that has led to this recognition," Hemanta Baishya, farming expert and coordinator of LPC, said.

This variety of rice is mostly used as part of the traditional cuisine with curd, jaggery, milk, sugar or other items.

In September 2017, Boka Chaul entered the examination stage where the applicants were asked to furnish scientific details pertaining to the rice's unique quality and the geo-climatic factors responsible for its characteris-tics.

Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) acted as a facilitator for the application of the GI tag.

Boka Chaul was mentioned in the GI journal published by the GI registry in March this year.