A five-year integrated development plan for the coffee sector with an outlay of ₹1,200 crore is in the offing.
Coffee Board CEO and Secretary, KG Jagadeesha, told a meeting of growers that the proposed integrated development plan, which has received approval from the Commerce Ministry, Finance Ministry, NITI Aayog and the Prime Minister’s Office, is expected to be placed before the Union Cabinet shortly.
Jagadeesha was addressing the 63rd Annual Conference of the Karnataka Planters Association (KPA), the apex growers’ body in the State, in Chikkamagaluru on Tuesday.
Karnataka, the largest coffee producing State, accounts for over two-thirds of the country’s output.
The proposed scheme prepared by the Coffee Board, in consultation with stakeholders, has many components such as assistance for re-plantation, revival of white stem borer-affected arabica plantations, productivity improvement of robusta holdings by gap filling with elite clones and collar pruning, water augmentation, quality upgradation - eco pulpers, drying yards, roasting and grinding units, formation of FPOs and exports promotion, among others.
Implementation
Jagadeesha said once the Cabinet clears the proposal, the scheme will be implemented with immediate effect. As part of the proposed plan, a Centre of Excellence for coffee entrepreneurship is being planned to groom the next generation, he said.
The Coffee Board CEO also exhorted growers to focus on improving productivity and called upon them to develop the domestic market to boost consumption.
Jagadeesha said the Coffee Board has made a proposal to the government for restructuring all existing loans including outstanding interest to long-term loan with soft interest rates.
The proposal is before Ministry of Commerce for consideration, he said. Coffee growers, reeling under the impact of changing climate and freak weather patterns amidst downtrend in prices in recent years and rising production costs, have been demanding a financial rescue package.
S Appadurai, Chairman, KPA, urged the Government to reschedule all types of loans to coffee growers including overdue and NPA accounts into a single term loan.
“We also request the Ministry and the Board to implement the next plan scheme at the earliest and make the scheme applicable to all categories of growers and fix the ceiling of unit value to actual costs and increase the rates to overcome the financial crisis and for the sustainability of the Coffee plantations,” he said.