Vijayawada :

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday turned out to be a brand ambassador of Araku Valley Coffee at a national conference of tribal women sarpanches here.

He saw to it that the organic brew was served to Union rural development minister Chowdari Birender Singh, minister for tribal welfare Jual Oram and Sudarshan Bhagath, union minister of justice and social empowerment and let them taste it to their content right on the dais.

Even as the programme anchor invited Birender Singh to address, Naidu intervened with a plea to let the minister finish his last sip. The CM appealed to all the 3000-odd women sarpanches who came from 10 states to promote the organic brand of Araku coffee.

It may be recalled that Prime Minister Narendar Modi felt bowled over by the rich aroma of the Araku brew at the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Visakhapatnam in February last.

Araku coffee is India’s first tribal growers organic brand launched in the Araku valley in 2007. The brand has got high demand in the US, UK and parts of European Union nations.

Naidu informed that the coffee production in the Araku Valley was increased by 1 lakh tons to 8 lakh with an increase of coffee plantation area by 1 lakh acres.

The coffee plantations helped the tribals increase their income levels with each family receiving at least Rs 3,000 per year by raising plantations and selling the produce.

Chandrababu said 13 products of Araku Valley including coffee and pepper have received organic certificates recently.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home / TNN / April 19th, 2016