Natural disaster, less production, lack of good pricing and disease spread worry growers

Madikeri:  Excess rainfall which devastated the lives of the Kodagu population last year, has also caused huge loss to coffee as well as pepper plantation in the district as the coffee crop is likely to drop during 2018-2019 in the State as well as in the country.

The Coffee Board officials in Chikkamagalur told UNI that the plantation areas had witnessed incidents of Black Rot disease and bean droppings. Now with drought-like conditions in the district, coffee plants and pepper vines are drying.

“There is going to be around 63,000 tonnes lesser coffee in 2018-19,” says a senior official at Coffee Board of India, on condition of anonymity. M.B. Abhimanyu Kumar, member, Coffee Board of India, says the Board has done a survey but not released any report regarding dip in production.

“Devastation is still visible on the ground, which shows loss of crops and further dip in production. The assessment of a 20 per cent dip in production was done by independent market researchers, not by the Board itself,” says Kumar.

Record production declines

India had record production of coffee in 2015-16 — producing 3,48,000 tonnes of coffee. However, since then, the output has been declining.

In 2016-17 and 2017-18, the production was 3,12,000 tonnes and 3,16,000 tonnes respectively. Extreme floods and landslides are predicted to further cause a dip in production to the tune of 2,53,000 tonnes.

“The deficit rainfall and rise in temperatures led to lesser coffee production in the country,” says Saleela Patkar, a Kodagu-based organic coffee grower.

Extreme weather events have not only led to a decrease in coffee production but have also impacted the premier coffee market.

Apart from this, coffee growers are now facing an acute shortage of labourers. “The cost of production for cultivating Arabica coffee is high. Increase in the price of fertilisers, insecticides and shortage of labourers have aggravated the problem in the district,” said a grower.

Instead of providing short-term remedies, the government and Coffee Board needs to chalk out long-term programmes to solve the problems faced by growers, said Somwarpet Taluk Coffee Growers Association President Mohan Bopanna.

Pepper disease

Black pepper is cultivated on 4,500 hectares of land in Somwarpet taluk. The pepper vines are affected with disease at Kundalli, Kumaralli, Takeri, Kiragandoor, Tholuru Shettalli, Koothi, Bachalli, Yadoor, Kalkandooru and Hosabeedu villages.

The slash in the price of pepper too has affected the growers. Pepper that was fetching Rs. 600 to Rs. 750 per kg two years ago has dropped to Rs. 290 to Rs. 300 per kg. Normally, when the coffee prices crash, growers depend on pepper for survival. This year, both the crops have been damaged, said growers.

Stem borer menace

Unfortunately, high yielding, and disease and drought resistant varieties in Arabica and Robusta are not released in India.

Due to high incidence of white stem borer menace in Arabica, productivity has declined in both Arabica and Robusta. Central Coffee Research Institute has to undertake more research to develop high yielding and disease resistant varieties, said growers.

MLA Appacchu Ranjan said, “Though the State Government has declared Somwarpet taluk as drought hit, it has not given any special projects for the district.” The government which promised Rs. 18,000 per hectare compensation has given only Rs. 900 to a few farmers,” he claimed.