Above: nutmeg

By the Caribbean Journal staff

France has champagne. Martinique has rhum. Grenada has its nutmeg.

Many countries around the world have globally protected geographic identifications for the products that define them, and Grenada is now looking to do the same for nutmeg and other spices.

Grenada’s government says it plans to use the system of geographic identifications to protect nutmeg and other spices, part of what it called an “important pillar in its branding strategy.”

The government began a four-day workshop aimed at bringing Grenada and other Caribbean territories “up to speed” on how to implement proper identification of their products at home and abroad this week.

The goal is to develop “ownership” of the products unique to these territories, the government said.

The subregional training workshop was organized by Grenada’s Ministry of Legal Affairs, in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation.

Ultimately, the identifications would aim to meet EC-CARIFORUM EPA requirements.

“It is my hope that this training will help the region to come up soon with the detailed list of GI products that countries will be able to develop for the benefit of the various stakeholders involved especially the producers,” said Vincent Fautrel, Senior Program Coordinator of the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation.
Tourism Minister Alexandra Otway-Noel said that, while geographic indications were not new, the Caribbean had been slow in recognizing their benefits — which could boost not just agriculture but also tourism.