Coffee growers from the South discussed issues plaguing the plantation sector, including subsidies and mechanisation, with the Union Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Tuesday and sought his help.
The delegation consisting of Mr Marvin Rodrigues (Chairman, Karnataka Planters' Association), Mr Sahadev Balakrishna (former Chairman, KPA), Mr Peter Mathias (Chairman, Tea Committee, United Planters' Association of Southern India) and Mr V. Murli (Member, Executive Committee, KPA) apprised Mr Scindia of the need to introduce mechanisation in plantation to address shortage of labour, strengthen research to develop drought-resistant and high-yielding robusta species, increase incentives for export and subsidise replanting.
Mr Rodrigues said while discussing plantation sector problems, the Minister assured the delegation that long-term issues would be included in the 12th Five-Year Plan.
The coffee delegation in New Delhi also met the Union Additional Secretary, Mr Madhusudan Prasad, and the Director (Plantations) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mr Sanoj Kumar Jha.
Coffee growers want development of indigenously manufactured machines suitable for field operations be developed on a war footing. “With low technology and innovative ideas, many of the field operations can be handled mechanically thereby by cutting down manpower,” said Mr Rodrigues.
Research and development
According to Mr Balakrishna, there is an urgent need to control the white stem borer. “This is most definitely the final chance for sustained arabica production in India. An effective control measure for the WSB is imperative to prevent the conversion of arabica estates into robusta,” he added.
“Also, there is a need to develop drought-resistant and high-yielding robusta strains which are good in the cup. With severe constraints on water resources, the development of drought-resistant varieties of robusta will mitigate the dependency on irrigation,” explained Mr Rodrigues.
To encourage growers to export, the Commerce Ministry gives Re 2 a kg on value-added coffee and Re 1 a kg on high-value green coffee as incentive. The delegation wants the amounts increased to Rs 3 and Rs 2 respectively.
As for the subsidy for replanting, growers want the cost of replanting set by the Coffee Board to be raised. Consequently, they want a higher rate of subsidy, which is based on the cost set. They also urged the Minister to consider opening the scheme to all sectors, including companies and co-operatives.