Crop grown in Kodagu, C’magaluru, Bababudangiri among 5 varieties being considered for the GI tag.
Soon, coffee grown in Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Bababudangiri will get geographical indication (GI) tag, said Srivatsa Krishna, CEO and secretary, Coffee Board, on Monday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of ‘Naya Bharat: Coffee Par Soch,’ as part of International Coffee Day, he said that the Board had applied for GI tag for coffee grown in five southern regions, based on their uniqueness. Of these five places, three are from Karnataka. The list also comprises coffee grown in Araku valley (Andhra Pradesh) and Wayanad (Kerala). The GI tag is likely to come by January 2019.
This is the first time that GI tag has been applied for coffee-growing regions. In 2008, GI tag was obtained for Monsoon Malabar coffee blend. “The idea of doing this is to recognise the coffee, promote the brand and increase local sales. Over 70% of India’s coffee is grown in Karnataka, but the market needs to be strengthened,” he said.
To increase the production of coffee, regain the market position and encourage farmers, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act funds will be helpful, Krishna said.
“I request the Coffee Board to tie up with zilla panchayats to recoup and expand the areas. Funds for coffee planters under MGNREGA will be given, on the lines of mulberry and sericulture,” he said. Krishna said the floods in Kodagu had an impact on coffee production, but things were improving.
On the occasion, the Board announced the launch of Atal Incubation Centre at Coffee Board in Bengaluru. This centre will help startups and coffee growers to become entrepreneurs. The centre is set up under the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to nurture innovative startup businesses.
So far, in India, 20 centres have been established, Coffee Board is the 21st and the first such in India, said R Ramanan, mission director, AIM. This centre is being set up in partnership with Nasscom and FKCCI.
The Coffee Board also announced its partnership with Ernst and Young for ‘The Future of Coffee-Roadmap’, and with National Institute of Public Finance and Policy for a study on subsidies for Coffee Industry.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Top Karnataka Stories / by Bosky Khanna, DH News Service / October 01st, 2018
Coffee lovers in the city must be a happy lot. There many options in places to have a hot cuppa and newer varieties and blends are being discovered regularly.
Metrolife spoke to owners of some of the popular cafes in the city who brew their own coffee, farm to cup style.
The Flying Squirrel
Starting off as a purely coffee making business, owners Ashish Dabreo and Tej later decided to open a cafe in Koramangala a couple of years ago. They have an estate in Coorg.
The cafe offers about eight varieties of coffee. The bean and powder are also retailed online and at the cafe.
Ashish says, “We follow the artisanal method to create our coffee. Depending on the type of coffee we are using, the process also varies according.”
One of their products, Sunkissed Coffee, is made with pulped sundried robusta bean. “There are two ways in which you can roast coffee — you either remove the skin and pulp and then dry it, or leave some of the pulp when drying. We follow the latter for Sunkissed coffee. The bean is fermented and then left to dry for 12 days. In this case, the fruitiness in the pulp gets absorbed into the bean, giving the coffee a distinct flavour.”
Each of the varieties offered here goes through various experimentations like pulping, drying, smoking and roasting before it goes on the shelf.
“Sometimes, cross plantation with citrus and vanilla gives different outputs too. And when that’s done, the storing process also needs to be monitored so that we get the consistency required,” adds Ashish.
He says that they are able to experiment with each harvest as the city is open to newer blends.
Coffee Mechanics
Ganga Prabhakar, co-founder, explains that their motto is to educate coffee lovers about the varieties they offer.
“We have three estates in Srilakshmi, Bhadrapura and Kuttinkhan, each of which give us different outputs as they are micro-farmed in different soils. With the difference in elevation at which the beans are grown, the flavour differs too. Depending on the roasting technique, the shade changes from light roasted to darker,” she explains.
The more you roast it, the more caramelised it becomes. However, if almost burnt, it becomes ashy which ruins the taste. The lightly roasted ones give a tangier taste which the brewers call ‘acidity’. “The higher you roast, the lesser the acidity. And then it can become caramelised or chocolatey — depends on what you prefer.”
Third Wave Coffee Roasters
Unlike other brewers, Third Wave Coffee Roasters don’t have their own plantation. They get samples from various farms between the months of March to May which they use to roast, cup and sample before they decide which coffee they want to buy for the year.
Co-founder Ayush Bathwal says, “Most of our coffees come from Yercaud and Kerala. We work with single origin farms so that we can maintain the authenticity of the beans available. We mix the beans only if we are experimenting with certain blends.” So how does their blending and brewing process work? “We buy close to 1,000 kg of green beans which we roast according to need. Once roasted, we store them in airtight containers. Each blend last two to four weeks.
They follow the Specialty Coffee Association of America meter. They finalise the product only if the bean scores more than 80 points.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Metrolife> Metrolife on the Move / by Anila Kurien, DH News Service, Bengaluru / September 30th, 2018
Coffee cupping, exhibition of coffee berries to be held.
The Coffee Board of India, in association with Way Win, a farmer-producer company in the coffee sector in Wayanad, and Vikaspaedia, an initiative of the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is organising various programmes to mark International Coffee Day on October 1.
Ports Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran will inaugurate the programme at the Town Hall here at 10 a.m. on the day.
Coffee Board Deputy director (Research) Vijayalakshmi will deliver the keynote address on the occasion.
Coffee cupping, a practice of observing the tastes and aromas of different brewed coffee varieties, would be the major attraction of the programme, organisers said in a release here on Thursday.
Exhibition of various types of coffee berries will also be held.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Kalpetta – September 28th, 2018
Ties up with National Institute of Public Finance and Policy for study on impact of subsidies on industry
Bengaluru :
The Coffee Board is to celebrate International Coffee Day on October 1 with a slew of partnerships. The board has roped in consulting firm Ernst & Young to prepare a strategy – “The Future of Coffee-Road Map”.
The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy will conduct a ‘Study of subsidies on coffee Industry’. Finally, the board plans to open 150 incubation centres under the Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission.
According to a senior board official, Ernst & Young would outline a strategy to improve the overall coffee sector performance across the value chain, from production to consumption, by analysing production challenges and proposing need-based interventions to strengthen small coffee growers, proposing a strategy for effective positioning of Indian coffee in the global and domestic markets, and technological interventions to overcome identified challenges.
The study would include assessment of production level challenges, value chain analysis, effective positioning of Indian coffee and drawing up a conceptual framework with technological interventions.
Impact of subsidies on coffee industry
The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy is to help in assessing the impact of various subsidies extended by the Coffee Board to farmers and exporters. The assessment report would consider how far the government incentive schemes have helped the overall coffee sector, in terms of both production as well as productivity, with suggestions on policy-level interventions required to help scale up overall coffee production as well as exports.
The key topic areas would include assessing the extent of outlay provided to implement ICDP, examining the impact of incentive schemes on production, productivity and quality of coffee, understanding implementation issues at the ground level and providing inputs to the government with regard to continuation of existing schemes as well as identifying the relevant incentive mechanism for the grow of the sector.
Atal Innovation Mission
The Centre has set up the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in the NITI Aayog to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in India. Towards creating world-class incubation facilities across various parts of India with suitable physical infrastructure in terms of capital equipment and operating facilities, coupled with the availability of sectoral experts for mentoring the start-ups, business planning support, access to seed capital, industry partners, training and other relevant components required for encouraging innovative start-ups, AIM is supporting the establishment of Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) that would nurture innovative start-up businesses in their pursuit to become scalable and sustainable enterprises.
For this, the AIC-CCRI Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development is being established at the Coffee Board’s head office in Bengaluru. The incubator, spread over an area of 10,000 square feet, would possess world-class infrastructure to provide space, product development laboratories, meeting rooms, auditoriums and contemporary IT infrastructure to incubatees.
The incubator would be supported by teams of national and international mentors to provide mentoring services to incubatees. Besides supporting the incubatees in Bengaluru, the AIC would also support virtual incubates through a network of partner institutions located across the country. The incubator would offer pre-incubation as well as accelerator services for coffee and agri-based start-ups. It is expected that AIC-CCRI Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development would result in the establishment of at least 150 innovative scalable businesses in the coffee and agribusiness sector in the next five years. This would contribute to growth in domestic demand for coffee and the overall development of the Indian coffee sector.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home / by Anil Urs / September 28th, 2018
Tata Starbucks in India is taking its coffee heritage and inspiration to celebrate International Coffee Week this year with coffee-forward experiences and special promotions across its stores.
Recognised in delivering consistent, authentic in-store experiences, rooted in high-quality Arabica coffee, Tata Starbucks is celebrating the art of coffee from heritage to brewed innovation over a seven-day celebration titled ‘Starbucks Brewtober’, beginning October 1.
To celebrate coffee, Starbucks stores, which bring to life the Third Place experience, will feature seven international whole bean coffees handpicked from seven different parts of the coffee belt, allowing customers to ‘Travel the World in Seven Sips’ this International Coffee Day- October 1.
Other experiential activities during the week include ‘Farm to Cup’ story – an immersive coffee tasting experience that brings to the fore Starbucks’ commitment to ethically sourced coffee and its 47-year old legacy of coffee processing and roasting; ‘Starbucks Coffee Experience Bar’- a masterclass into the art, craft and science behind different cups of coffee and ‘Latte Art’ – a showcase of the craft of Starbucks partners.
On October 6, Starbucks Brewtober brings ‘Starbucks 100’ – a day Starbucks shares coffee love with all its customers by offering them any short/ tall Starbucks beverage at only Rs 100 across all its stores in India.
Continuing with the celebrations, Starbucks is also offering My Starbucks Rewards Gold Members an exclusive offer on October 7.
“At Starbucks ,we take great pride and joy in partnering with customers on their journey of coffee exploration and are committed to delivering an unparalleled coffee experience. With ‘Starbucks Brewtober’, Tata Starbucks commemorates coffee with a week-long celebration. ‘Starbucks Brewtober’ offers coffee lovers a unique way of celebrating coffee, starting with various immersive coffee experiences to the big day of ‘Starbucks 100’ – a day when Starbucks shares coffee love with its customers by offering all its short/ tall handcrafted beverages for only Rs 100,” said Veetika Deoras, Head – Marketing, Category, Digital and Loyalty at Tata Starbucks Limited.
“We hope to celebrate coffee and the spirit of Starbucks through the week and look forward to welcoming our customers in our stores,” she added.
International Coffee Week will be celebrated across all Starbucks stores in India from October 1 to 7, 2018.
SOURCE: ANI
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home / by Syed Qayam Ali / September 26th, 2018
With donors from across the state contributing to CM’s Relief Fund, exclusively released to Kodagu district, over Rs 62 crore has been collected as on September 20.
Madikeri :
Following the natural disaster in Kodagu district, the numerous families that had lost houses and other properties were handed over Rs 3,800 – Rs 1,800 for clothing and Rs 2,000 for utensils and other household goods (per family)- under SDRF/NDRF guidelines.
Since the damage has been severe and the process of permanent rehabilitation will take some more time, the district administration including Deputy Commissioner Sreevidya P I and Kodagu District Minister Sa Ra Mahesh had proposed a request to the State government to increase the amount from meagre Rs 3,800/- per family to Rs 50,000, in a letter dated 28 August.
While the State and National Disaster Fund guidelines do not allow any changes to be made to the gratuitous funds, the state revenue department had stepped into people’s aid and had forwarded the proposal of releasing Rs 50,000/- each for the distressed families from the Karnataka Chief Minister Relief Fund-Natural Calamity 2018. The proposal, which was forwarded to CM H D Kumaraswamy was later forwarded to the Cabinet Committee for approval, which has now been sanctioned.
With donors from across the state contributing to CM’s Relief Fund, exclusively released to Kodagu district, over Rs 62 crore has been collected as on September 20. As many as 1,156 families have been directly affected by natural disaster and 186 houses have been damaged completely, 530 houses have been damaged severely and 404 houses have undergone partial damage.
While Rs 320 crore has been allotted to Karnataka under SDRF, an additional state fund of Rs 400 crore is provided to the state.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / September 22nd, 2018
The hanging bride built across Cauvery River near Sri Ramalingeshwara Temple at Kanive close to Kushalnagar in Somwarpet taluk of Kodagu District has been severely damaged by recent floods that devastated Kodagu.
The hanging bridge connects villages along the border between Kodagu and Mysuru Districts. It also acted as a bond between villagers. The bridge with its unique nature, also attracted thousands of tourists. But heavy rains resulting in the flooding of Cauvery and Harangi Rivers, has caused huge damages to the bridge, which is on the verge of collapsing.
The Steel-Suspension Bridge supported by piers on both the banks of the river, has been so devastated by floods, that even pedestrians too are scared to walk on this bridge.
The steel rods that hold the bridge have broken and the wooden planks meant for pedestrian commute, have come apart. Thousands of people who depended on this bridge for their daily commute to work, are now scared about their future, with the bridge no longer safe for commuting.
Entry to the bridge has been banned by the Police.
This hanging bridge was built eight years ago at a cost of Rs. 45 lakh, funded by Malnad Area Development Board (MADB), Shivamogga. Sullai’s renowned suspension bridge expert Girish and his team constructed the bridge using the latest technology. The bridge had been the dream of thousands of people living in villages along Kodagu’s border with Mysuru District. The bridge connects many villages of Periyapatna taluk in Mysuru District, including Dodda Kammanahalli, Shanubhoganahalli, Dindigadu, Muttina Mulluroge, Kanagalu, Hanumanthapura and Karadi Lakkanakere with Kodagu villages such as Kanive, Bhuvanagiri, Huluse, Hakke, Kudige, Mararu and Hebbale. Before the construction of this hanging bridges, the villagers had to cross the river on boats and on the dangerous bridge along the aqueduct built at a height of over 50ft. This dangerous and risky bridge was a bane to hundreds of students and labourers who used to commute daily. The authorities taking note of the daily hardship of the people, built this bridge at Kanive.
As flooding waters submerged this bridge and caused considerable damage to it, pedestrian movement on the bridge has been banned. The Police have erected barricades across the bridge. With the closure of his hanging bridge, villagers along the border are forced to take a detour of about 20kms via Avarti to reach Kushalnagar and other places.
With the recent floods weakening the bridge, the villagers have urged the Kodagu District Administration to repair this bridge at the earliest and throw it open once again for the benefit of villagers, who consider this bridge as a very important part of their life.
Unfortunately, for the people who depended on the bridge, the District Administration has not yet announced any funds to repair the bridge.
The bridge is crucial for the devotees to go to the historic Ramalingeshwara Temple and as the bridge is unsafe now, many people are robbed off the opportunity to go to the temple, said Bharadhwaj K. Anandatheertha, a writer from Kanive.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News /
September 16th, 2018
The board has launched on pilot basis a number of tech measures to help the 3.66 lakh coffee growers in the country.
Suresh Prabhu (C) at the Naya Bharat event | @CoffeeboardI/Twitter
New Delhi:
Drones, geo-tagging and a number of mobile apps are among the technological measures the government-run Coffee Board is set to introduce to improve productivity and revenue.
The board, which is under the commerce ministry, set the process in motion last week, when Suresh Prabhu, the Commerce and Industries Minister, formally launched the ‘Coffee Connect’ app.
The app will collect data from coffee plantations in the country through inbuilt geo-tagging which will help generate information about plantation location, plant material and age.
“For the first time in the 75 years of India’s Coffee Act, 1942, we are trying to infuse new technologies that will enhance productivity and yield for farmers,” said Coffee Board Secretary and CEO, Srivasta Krishna.
Krishna emphasised on the need to grow “smart coffee”, using concepts such precision agriculture and smart agriculture to maximise yields from the existing coffee growing regions.
The board hopes that these technological measures will help increase profits of farmers, particularly in the export markets.
‘Way to hike profits’
According to Krishna, a cup of Indian coffee sells for $3 to $4 in the US, of which an Indian farmer gets only 5 cents. With technology, he said, this could rise to 10 cents.
The move comes amid fears that the next season could see the coffee output drop to its lowest in two decades due to the unprecedented rains in the two top crop producing regions in the country – Kodagu in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala.
According to a Bloomberg report, output in the year starting October 1 may be about 25 per cent lower than the 3,16,000 metric tons estimated by the Coffee Board for 2017-18.
Coffee is cultivated by 3.66 lakh coffee farmers in the country, 98 per cent of whom are small farmers. Typically, a small farmer is one who owns less than 25 acres.
Apps galore and a call centre
The ‘Coffee Connect’ app is among a number of apps that the board has already launched on a pilot basis.
The app allows users to get in touch with the coffee board’s extension officers, who provide services to coffee farmers.
At present, there are 170 Coffee Board extension personnel — or one extension officer per 2,153 farmers.
The app, officials hope, will enable better information exchange between Coffee Board personnel and those on the ground.
The board has also launched, on a pilot basis, a suite of apps to provide solutions to challenges in rainfall, pests and diseases.
Some of the app features are hyper-local weather forecasting, early detection of coffee crop pests such as the White Stem Borer and predicting the probability of Leaf Rust disease.
This app also has a blockchain-based market-place that allows coffee growers and farmers to directly deal with customers, including multinational firms.
“These are all wonderful efforts. These tech solutions, however, need more effort, and push from all stakeholders to make them really effective,” said Mohan Alwares, a coffee grower from Mudigere in Karnataka.
Alwares lauded the blockchain-based market but urged the board to increase awareness of it.
Rajeev Chaudhary, general manager and the chief risk officer, Agriculture Insurance Company of India, said such measures will hold the board in good stead.
“The Coffee Board’s various tech implementations including the pilot blockchain-based marketplace would make it a frontrunner among the other boards for crops in India. Other boards, however, will most likely follow suit”.
Drones Used
Another proposal that the board is exploring promoting is the use of drones in agriculture.
At the board’s event last Tuesday, several drone start-ups presented proposals, arguing that their use will improve the efficiency of pesticide use and spray.
“A farmer might take 2-3 hours to spray an acre with pesticide; a drone will do this in less than 10 minutes,” said Rahat Kulshreshtha, the CEO of the drone start-up Quidich Innovation Labs. “Using drones we found that 30 per cent less pesticide can be used and since it can be done remotely, farmers are saved from the harmful effects of direct contact with pesticides”.
Alwares, however, isn’t sure that drones will help in coffee plantations in India. “Unlike in Brazil where coffee is grown in open cultivation, in India coffee is largely a crop grown in shade,” he said. “If a coffee plant is 5 feet tall, there are trees as tall as 50 to 100 feet growing over it to provide shade. So I’m not entirely sure how drones can be used.”
Chaudhary of the Agriculture Insurance India foresees drones being increasingly used in other crops. He says drones for aerial surveillance will be especially helpful in monitoring high-value and high-risk crops such as cotton, groundnut, soybean and plantation crops like tea. Agri insurance companies will likely make more drone purchases he said, adding that Maharashtra leads the pack in this sector.
source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> Governance / by Regina Nihindukulasuriya / September 13th, 2018
A house constructed using composite material near Chikkapetehalli near Yelahanka in Bengaluru
A former scientist from the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, has come up with a proposal to construct light-weight, flood-resistant houses made of composite material in Kodagu district.
The material used in lightweight combat aircraft will be employed to build the houses, to replace brick and mortar as construction material.
Dr R Gopalan, the retired scientist from NAL, also the executive director and CEO of Society for Development of Composites, says structures constructed using brick and cement increases the load on the soil, which is not good for houses prone to natural disasters.
“Across the world, people are building houses using composite materials, which have high durability compared to traditional brick and cement. The weight of these houses is 1/100th of the traditional structures. Houses built using composite material can be constructed in just a few hours,” Gopalan said.
Referring to Home Minister G Parameshwara, who said pre-fabricated houses like Indira canteens will be promoted by the government, Gopalan said pre-cast cement slabs used in Indira canteens are very heavy and require use of cranes to construct homes. Knowing the soil condition of the flooded areas, it is advisable not to use heavy structures in Kodagu, the scientist said.
Light-weight material gives excellent thermal insulation unlike Indira canteens, which will be like a hot oven.
Gopalan, along with other scientists, travelled across the ravaged areas of Kodagu to assess the situation. The team met the incharge secretary and the incharge minister for Kodagu in this regard. The team has constructed 65 taluk hospitals in North Karnataka in a span of five months and has built houses in flood-affected areas of the region.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Top Karnataka Stories / by Poornima Nataraj, DH News Services,Bengaluru / September 08th, 2018
Your cup of joe just got a digital twist, with the launch of some new apps to help coffee farmers in the country stay on top of the game.
Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu at the launch of the digital initiatives in Delhi
The affair between coffee and India started 400 years ago when the legendary Sufi saint Baba Budan brought seven magical beans from Yemen and sowed them in the Chandragiri hills of Karnataka. But Indians have been known to love tea since the days of British colonisation, with coffee being more of a social lubricant. We are no coffee connoisseurs and most Indians have little idea about French press coffee makers, as they are content with ready-to-make coffees. A majority may be familiar with terms like ‘latte’ and ‘cappuccino’ (thanks to the coffee chains), but ask them about Arabica or Robusta, and their clueless faces will give them away.
These perceptions are what the Coffee Board of India aims to change. “Everyone drinks tea. I have to make them drink coffee… make them taste coffee. People have to understand coffee’s taste. They have to realise the benefits of coffee. There are a lot of myths regarding coffee. We think green tea is good and coffee isn’t. We are trying to break those myths and make you taste it,” says Srivasta Krishna, secretary and CEO, Coffee Board.
For this purpose, the board has undertaken many initiatives, the latest of which was the launch of some apps to help coffee farmers across the country. From helping them know weather patterns to identifying crop diseases, these apps, which will be pilot-tested in 10 panchayats in Karnataka and Kerala, aim to provide timely technological help to farmers. For the initiative, the board has joined forces with EKA Software Solutions, a digital commodity management platform.
The Coffee Board further intends to bridge the gap between the farmer who produces coffee and his consumer. In fact, the statutory organisation, which functions under the administrative control of the ministry of commerce and industry, aims to do away completely with the middleman, doubling or tripling the income of farmers who currently get only 5% of the profits.
The primary reason for launching the apps—Coffee Connect, Coffee Krishi Tharanga, Hyper Local Weather Forecast, Blockchain-Based Marketplace, etc—is to make sure there is ample exchange of information between the Coffee Board and those responsible for growing and selling coffee. Currently, 170 Coffee Board extension personnel offer services to 3.66 lakh coffee farmers in India—or one extension officer per 2,153 farmers.
With the help of these apps, information (such as plantation details, plant material, age, production, infrastructure, machinery available, etc) will also be provided to field functionaries, using a combination of digitisation technologies like geo-tagging.
Shuchi Nijhawan, vice-president, agribusiness, EKA Software Solutions, says, “For the past 14 years, EKA has been working with a lot of coffee trading companies outside India. So when our co-founder said we should do something in India, we thought of the Coffee Board because it is a forward-looking organisation. The Blockchain-Based Marketplace app, for instance, looks at eliminating middlemen and helping farmers connect directly with coffee giants like Starbucks and Tata.”
At the launch of the mobile apps, the utility of drone technology in agriculture was also demonstrated. “Agriculture and horticulture are growing in a big way. But despite the growth, challenges remain. One of these challenges is productivity. India is the highest irrigated land in the world… technology is the only way we can address the issue of productivity,” said commerce minister Suresh Prabhu. “Giving the right quantity of nutrients and ensuring proper control is very important for agricultural productivity,” he added.
source: http://www.financialexpress.com / Financial Express / Hoem> Lifestyle / by Indrani Bose, FE Bureau / New Delhi – September 09th, 2018
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