Kohima (The Hawk): The Nagaland government has launched an ambitious plan to cover 50,000 hectares of land by coffee plantations by 2030 in an effort to export coffee to European and Middle Eastern nations, authorities said on Monday.
Around 8,412.49 hectares and 1,419.7 hectares of land in various districts are currently covered by Arabica and Robusta coffee plantations, respectively, with the assistance and support of the Coffee Board.
P.P. Chaudhury, the deputy director of the Coffee Board, stated that the Board has been assisting about 400 coffee farmers annually who own about 200 hectares of land.
The Land Resources Development (LRD) department is the nodal agency in the cultivation of organic coffee in Nagaland, the official added. "The Board is also providing market linkage of the products by bringing in customers from different parts of India," the official said.
According to Chaudhury, the Coffee Board offers seedlings to develop nurseries as well as infrastructure help during harvest as part of its programmes.
Although Nagaland only produces a little amount of coffee at the moment, he claimed that the organic drink's quality is "extremely good" and meets all international criteria.
According to officials, Nagaland has a microclimate that makes the soil ideal for growing coffee.
With the help of the Coffee Board, the LRD department is able to teach farmers and take them on exposure tours to neighbouring states.
An LRD official claims that the coffee plantation was first started in Nagaland in the early 1990s, but due to a lack of market connections, the project did not initially prove to be successful.
Albert Ngullie, a second LRD director, stated that the Nagaland government restored coffee plantations in a mission style throughout the state in 2014, with the LRD department serving as the nodal agency. Currently, the state's organic coffee is shipped to nations in Europe and the Middle East.
The North Eastern Council (NEC) has offered financial support to distribute 360 coffee pulping equipment throughout the state as part of the post-Covid economic recovery plan. The NABARD additionally aids farmers in growing organic coffee.
The only company exporting coffee from the northeastern state is Nagaland Coffee Private Limited, which has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nagaland government to distribute and export coffee.
The proprietor of the business, Vivito Yeptho, claimed that he began exporting coffee in 2017 with just four tonnes and that the largest volume per season has been 11 tonnes.
He added that Nagaland coffee is exported to nations like South Africa, Bahrain, Dubai, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and South East Asia. "We are expecting to sell at least 20 tonnes of coffee by 2023," he said.
(Inputs from Agencies)