At a time when ground water table is depleting in Kodagu, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojane will be a boon for conserving the ground water. The Agriculture department has been getting ready to conserve water in 25 gram panchayats.
With the recede in rainfall, the ground water table in the district has depleted drastically. Water would be available by digging 100 feet, 10 years ago. Now, even after sinking for 300 to 400 feet, water is not available in the district.
Though Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojane came into effect last year, the department has decided to implement it effectively during the current year. The Union government, based on satellite images, has identified a few areas in Western Ghats where water conservation activities can be taken up. Accordingly, percolation pits will be dug in 81 villages in these gram panchayats.
The beneficiaries whose land is identified in the satellite image will get Rs 60,000. The amount could be used for sinking the pits, removing the silt of the pit, development of the pit in the next five years, said an official from Agriculture department.
To increase the ground water table, even ‘Thottilu Gundi’ will be constructed in coffee estates. The work on construction of vented dams, planting of silver trees would be taken up under the scheme. Kodagu district would get a sum of Rs 3.17 crore for five years. If the scheme is implemented effectively, then water table would increase in the district, said officials.
Under the second phase, 11 villages of three gram panchayats in Madikeri taluk, the percolation pits have already been dug. With this, the recharge of ground water table would be taken up during the monsoon. 15 metre long, 15 metre wide and three metre-deep pits have been dug.
In the third phase, 10 gram panchayats in Somwarpet taluk have been selected. In 2018, nine gram panchayats in Virajpet and five gram panchayats in Madikeri will be included.
Agriculture department officer Robert told DH: “Decline in rainfall has depleted ground water table. It is a challenge for the growers in Malnad to safeguard the long term crops. Percolation pits help check erosion of fertile soil. “The department will not select the farmers. Based on the satellite image, the survey number farmer will be the beneficiary.”
DH News Service
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Aditya K A / DHNS- Madikeri, January 28th, 2017
The vision of World Tea Coffee Expo Mumbai India is to expand the Indian Beverage business by providing all sourcing requirements under one roof
Growing in size and stature every year, the 5th edition of World Tea Coffee Expo comes back to Mumbai from 16th Nov – 18th Nov 2017 with a host of enhanced features and activities covering the entire gamut of the Hot Beverage sector.
Globally recognized at a complete trade show for Tea, Coffee and allied sectors, the three day annual event shall witness about 90+ exhibitors from 8 countries showcasing latest innovative products, machineries, equipment, packaging, technologies, vending solutions, flavours, Retail Chains, certifications, Premixes, government boards etc.
The 5th edition shall have additional features like an upscale Display showcase, wider range of networking events, a special section for e-commerce companies, more educational content and speakers at Conference and interactive workshops – including tasting sessions – by some of the best Baristas/Trainers, Tea Sommeliers and Chefs. 5th World Tea Coffee Expo Mumbai India is supported by Sri Lanka Tea Board and leading associations and chambers from across the world have pledged their support to this important industry initiative.
Since its launch in 2013, the expo has brought global industry players closer, enabled mega deals in addition to being the definite launch pad for new products and technologies especially for start-ups and SMEs who aspire for national / international expansion but have low budgets.
The 2016 edition hosted 67 companies – including Pavilions from Tea Board of India and Sri Lanka Tea Board – which showcased their best to a business visitor base of 3400+ which included senior level decision makers comprising of Retailers, Wholesalers, Distributors, hypermarkets/multi-product retail chains, Tea/Coffee Estate owners, potential franchisees, purchase managers of medium-to-large offices, HoReCa sector professionals many of whom placed large orders with exhibitors. The 2-day hi level conference discussed issues facing the sector and workshops on last day imparted technical skills. Experts from across India were a part of the conference and workshops.
“This niche Expo provides the perfect environment for the hot beverage industry to meet face-to-face and develop real business opportunities. WTCE facilitates participants to strike bulk deals, joint ventures/alliances, franchise deals, appoint marketing agents, knowledge-sharing, meeting government officials and generate large number of business leads.” said Ms Priti Kapadia, Director, Sentinel Exhibitions Asia Pvt. Ltd, the organizers of this unique trade show.
The global market for RTD (Ready-to-Drink) Tea and Coffee is expected to reach $150 billion by 2021 with an annual growth rate of 7%. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market and also showing maximum growth. The Indian tea and coffee market is one of the largest in world in terms of production, consumption and growth prospects. However, future success depends largely on use of latest technology, seamless upgradation of existing facilities, adapting to ecommerce and cost effective processing – something WTCE strives for. For further information please log onto www.worldteacoffeeexpo.com or call on +912228625131 or email to info@worldteacoffeeexpo.com
source: SentinelPR priti@publicrelationindia.com / Press Release / February 21st, 2017
Ibnii Coorg is nestled on 120 acres of which 50 acres is being used for coffee plantation
Ibnii Coorg, an eco luxe resort located in Coorg (Kodagu) district of Karnataka, has become the first hospitality project in India to receive the IGBC Platinum certification for energy and resource-efficient, sustainable, cost-effective buildings.
source: http://www.financialexpress.com / The Financial Express / Home> Lifestyle> Travel Tourism / by Steena Joy, Madikeri / February 21st, 2017
Ibnii Coorg, an eco luxe resort located in Coorg (Kodagu) district of Karnataka, has become the first hospitality project in India to receive the IGBC Platinum certification for energy and resource-efficient, sustainable, cost-effective buildings that impose minimal stress on the environment. The resort is also gearing to get its LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification by April.
The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was formed in the year 2001.The rating systems are based on the five elements of nature (Panchabhutas) and are applicable to all five climatic zones of the country.
Ibnii Coorg is nestled on 120 acres of which 50 acres is being used for coffee plantation. The resort has just finished with its first coffee harvest. Speaking exclusively to FE Online, Dr Sherry Sebastian, director, Ibnii Coorg, informed, “In the last 60 years, no pesticides have been used on this land. So it is an ecological and biodiversity hotspot. Very few trees were cut during construction of Ibnii Coorg. We are also very actively involved in rainwater harvesting as we have three large water catchment areas. We harvest nearly five million litres of water every year. Apart from a waste management plant, we have a state-of-the-art Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) too to further minimise our dependency on fresh water. The treated water is used for landscaping and other utilities. Ibnii is also a vehicle free zone with only electric buggies used for internal movements. Guests are encouraged to walk around the resort.”
The resort also has introduced other ecological initiatives such as an inhouse tailoring facility where many articles are created out of recycled materials like shopping bags out of used cement sacks and bubble wraps; use of steel fruit and vegetable crates in the kitchens instead of the conventional plastic crates; use of drop pops in the restaurants in place of finger bowls for washing hands. The resort is also part of a new project with Madikeri town for making a road using recycled plastic from the resort.
Ibnii Coorg also has TieCop, its Environment Conservation Programme.
Dr Sebastian added, “We also want our supply chain to be eco sensitive – so we source only from vendors who have the same sensitivity towards the environment. Presently, we source the coffee for the resort from Halli Berri, a fourth generation all woman owned concern coffee estate in Chikmagalur with a similar vision towards sustainability, but soon we hope to be able to use our own coffee. We have a vegetable garden where we source most of the vegetables for our salads. Another bigger vegetable garden is being created which is expected to give us around 14 tonnes of vegetables.”
The resort has a robust waste segregation system where the organic waste is used in a vermicompost to generate high-yield, organic manure which is in turn used in the green house to grow fresh organic vegetables and fruits.
source: http://www.financialexpress.com / The Financial Express / Home> LifeStyle> Travel Tourism / by Steena Joy ,Financial Express, B2B / Madikeri – February 21st, 2017
Some of the coffee tasted bland, others were a bit over-the-board bitter. The 33-year-old Arshiya Bose, social entrepreneur and owner of Black Baza Coffee who was in Kochi recently to hold a coffee-tasting session, says that there is no short cut to making a good cuppa of coffee.
So, Arshiya takes her students on a trip on the perfect ways of making coffee. At the end of the session, she introduces them to the Black Baza Coffee, which is warm and has the lure of a refreshing evening drink. What’s unique with this coffee is not only the way it is processed, but that the beans are grown in the most fertile of soils in India – right next to the Kodagu and B R Hills in Karnataka, where the river Cauvery flows in all its glory.
Karnataka-based Arshiya Bose is currently on a mission to promote this coffee, which is grown under large tree canopies, right next to the river beds. According to her, Indians have forgotten the taste of original and eco-friendly coffee, and has hence taken it upon herself to bring back the lost glory.
“Indians drank one of the most unique coffees in the world. In the past, the coffee beans, especially in Karnataka, were grown under forest covers and under shades of trees.
However, constant deforestisation forced our farmers to grow coffee directly under the sunlight,” she said. According to her, this method was detrimental to the environment (as it encouraged deforestisation), and also led to early maturation of the coffee beans, which supposedly also lead to a compromise in quality and taste.
For this, Arshiya got in touch with farmers who were growing coffee beans in Karnataka.
“ This is how we zoomed in on Kodagu and B R Hills. We said we would buy their produce and sell it across the country, if they were willing to heed to the eco-friendly norms. They agreed. So, they started growing coffee under available trees and were given the responsibiltiy to look after it too,” says Arshiya.
Right now, Arshiya’s Black Baza Coffee, named after the small bird of prey found in heavenly dense forests of South and South East Asia, is sold across the country. In Kochi, it is available at Pepper House Cafe.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Princy Alexander / Express News Service / February 05th, 2017
The Kodagu district police have added two more hi-tech higway patrolling vehicles to ensure speedy service.
The vehicles of Toyota Innova make are fitted with latest gadgets like surveillance cameras and GPS, besides equipped with search lights, stretcher, first aid kit, mega phone among others to ensure timely service at the time of emergency.
SP P Rajendra Prasad, who flagged off the patrolling vehicles, said, “They will be in addition to existing two patrolling vehicles deployed on NH 275 passing through the district.”
The vehicles moving round the clock will monitor the road from Boikeri to Koppa (Kodagu and Mysuru border respectively), while on the other side till Sampaje Gate bordering Dakshina Kannada district.
At the time of mishaps, they will be attending to the cases swiftly within 20 minutes of receiving the information, besides doing their mite to help the victims. It will also come in handy in preventing crimes if any with highway being vulnerable to dacoity and other types of robberies, besides ensuring smooth flow of traffic.
SP said that Kushalnagar accounts for most road mishaps and measures are being taken to check the same. The district will receive equipment worth Rs 70 lakh within a fortnight, to address traffic woes alone, he added.
Giving an account of fatalities, the SP said that on an average 1.4 lakh die in road mishaps every year in the country, with 380 deaths calculated per day. In the state alone, 28 deaths are reported due to accidents in 120 accidents every day.
On migrants flocking the district, the SP said the operation is on to check illegalities if any.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS – Madikeri, February 09th, 2017
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will operate buses on newer routes from Madikeri to Emmemadu and Kozhikode in neighbouring Kerala from February 4. The move is expected to improve bus connectivity further in the district and the neighbouring areas.
According to KSRTC director M A Shaukat Ali, the bus to Kerala will pass Moornadu, Virajpet, Kutta, Manathavadi, Karandur and Markaz University before reaching Kozhikode. Another bus from Dharmasthala to Channarayapatna will start at 7 am daily passing Mangaluru, Madikeri and Somwarpet before reaching Channarayapatna in Hassan district.
MLC Veena Acchaiah and chairman of Karnataka Silk Marketing Board Limited T P Ramesh will flag off the buses. Ali said, to enable school going students, the bus from Somwarpet will reach Madikeri at 9.30 am.
30 more routes
The KSRTC has applied for permits for 30 more routes from the Regional Transport Authority. Funds of Rs 1 crore have been set aside for renovation works of the bus stand at Somwarpet. The tender process has been completed, while Rs 1.5 crore has been sanctioned towards restoration of the depot in Madikeri.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS – Madikeri, February 01st, 2017
Will make all sincere efforts to solve problems: Chummi Devaiah
Newly appointed Madikeri Urban Development Authority (MUDA) president Chummi Devaiah said all efforts will be made to take up development works for the promotion of tourism by retaining the green zone. Speaking to reporters after taking charge as the president of the here on Monday, he said, “I have experience in the City Municipal Council as its member for the last 20 years.I have knowledge on the problems faced by the people in Madikeri. All sincere efforts will be made to solve the problems.”
Madikeri is considered as ‘Kashmir of Karnataka.’ Of late, nature is being destroyed in the name of development in the recent past in the district. The tourists will visit Madikeri only if the greenery is conserved. The tourists will not come to see concrete jungle in the district. All efforts will be made to retain the green zone, he added.
Building violation
He said there are complaints on buildings that have contravened building laws as far as underground parking space is concerned. The previous deputy commissioner Anurag Tewari had prepared a list of buildings that had violated the law on parking space. Buildings are constructed without land conversion at several places in MUDA jurisdiction. There is a need to check such violations. Even fields are converted to layouts. If such developments takes place unchecked, then the district will face acute shortage of water, Devaiah warned.
Lake rejuvenation, sites
He said MUDA has a Rs 10-lakh fund for rejuvenation of lakes in city limits and the work desiltation work will be taken up at the earliest. He said the previous MUDA president had taken measures to provide sites for poor by creating new layouts. This will be continued, he said.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS – Madikeri, January 31st, 2017
Every Assembly constituency will be allocated Rs 7.5 crore for development of rural areas under Gram Vikas scheme, said District In-charge Minister M R Seetaram.
Speaking after hoisting the National Flag at the 68th Republic Day celebrations at General Thimmaiah stadium in Madikeri on Thursday, he said steps are taken to provide houses to the destitute tribals of Kodagu. The district administration has earmarked and will distribute sites among the beneficiaries soon.
The tender process for Rs five crore for the private bus stand in Madikeri is completed and construction work will be carried out with the funds of DELT and CMC. The work on court buildings in Madikeri and Ponnampet is on at a cost of Rs 36.7 crore and Rs 9.50 crore respectively. Construction work of the Zilla Panchayat administrative block will be carried out at a budget of Rs 18.25 crore. Site for district-level officers’ quarters has been identified, said Seetaram.
Development work on 478 rural roads was carried out at a cost of Rs 44.25 crore. Of these, 300 roads are open for public. Up to 26 lakes will be developed at a cost of Rs 56 lakh. Measures have been taken to make Kodagu free from open defecation.
Housing facilities have been provided to 3,955 beneficiaries under Indira Avas, Ambedkar Housing and other schemes. Grants of Rs 50 lakh have been released for establishment of a horticultural technology park at Madapur. The work on apiculture park at Bhagamandala is in progress. A honey museum is also being developed, he added.
A march past was held while various departments exhibited their tableaux.
Horticultural Department assistant director Girish, zonal conservator of forests Paul Antony, ZP superintendent A K Anjaneya, Hudikeri revenue inspector Radhakrisha, physical education director Nanda, Rojirani, assistant teacher Jayashree, Field Marshal Cariappa College NCC cadets Gautam, Ashwini and Nanjappa were felicitated for being awarded with Seva Prashasti.
MLC Veena Acchaiah, Zilla Panchayat president B A Harish, vice president Lokeshwari Gopal. DC Dr Richard Vincent D’Souza, SP P Rajendra Prasad and CMC president Kaveramma Somanna were present for the programme.
DH News Service
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS – Madikeri, January 27th, 2017
Coffee growers in Karnataka, who went through a rough patch recently, are happy, thanks to a huge drop in production and supply from major coffee-growing countries in the global market.
Growers in Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and parts of Hassan are upbeat after coffee prices hit a five-year high despite the state registering a low yield this time due to severe drought and demonetization.
According to a senior official in the coffee board, Bengaluru, severe drought in major coffee-producing countries like Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia has resulted in poor yield and quality issues. As a result, there’s a great demand for Indian coffee, 70% of which is produced in Karnataka.
According to Kabir, a leading coffee dealer in Madikeri, Kodagu, coffee prices are rising for the past fortnight and the trend is expected to continue till April. A 50-kg bag of Robusta variety, produced mostly in the state, costs Rs 4,000 while Arabica costs Rs 9,600. Last year, the average price of Robusta was Rs 3,000 and Arabica Rs 4,600.
The prices have picked up in the retail market too after remaining at a low for the past five years. The prices range between Rs 150 and Rs 200 a kg.
Coffee board former vice-chairman Sannuvanda M. Kaverappa added that a shortfall of 2.08 million bag of 60 kgs each in the international market this year will lead to a rise in coffee prices in India.
“About 70% of Indian coffee will be exported and the rest will meet the domestic demand,” he added.
B S Jairam, president, Karnataka Grower’s Federation (KGF), said the Robusta yield has been good this season in the state compared to Arabica.
“Most growers are in distress owing to poor yield. The drought, labour crisis and demonetization have virtually pushed growers to the wall. The marginal current price rise will definitely not compensate for losses over the years,” said Karnataka Planters’ Association chairman M M Chengappa.
(With inputs from G Rajendra in Madikeri)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bangalore News / by Manu Aiyappa Kanathanda, TNN / January 26th, 2017
Struggling to improve yield levels with traditional methods at his coffee plantation, Hoysala found great success with technological innovations.
Hoysala at his plantation. Credit: M.J. Prabu
Farming, especially in India, is generally considered to be a traditional field that’s averse to innovation, however M.G. Hoysala’s successful decision to quit banking for farming with the help of technological innovations, shows that keeping an open mind towards new, nontraditional cultivation techniques and interacting with experts in the field is essential for achieving farming success.
While many come into the profession unwillingly, Hoysala represents a section of people that actually wants to take on the family vocation. After spending five years working at a private bank, Hoysala came to realise the importance that the agriculture and plantation sector held for him. So he left his job and took over his father’s coffee plantation.
Since he took over, the Hoysala’s 40 acre farm in Karnataka’s Kodagu district has become a role-model of sorts for the other farms in the area.
As is common in the region, Hoysala grows Arabica coffee on his farm, but what differentiates his farming practices from the rest is the presence of tall indigenous trees that grow alongside the rows of coffee bushes, their height providing shade for the lower shrubs. Another distinguishing factor is the presence of black pepper vines that cover the trees’ trunks.
Starting off as an amateur, Hoysala initially followed the locally practiced traditional forms of cultivation. However, his lack of experience and the absence of proper guidance worsened his predicament. Disease-damaged crops, low productivity and a lack of knowledge about advanced production technologies were just some of the problems Hoysala faced when he took over the coffee plantation.
Collaborating with experts
Hoysala recalls contacting the Indian Institute of Spices Research around the same time as he started to realise that he would need technology if he wanted to stabilise his plantation’s yield level in a sustainable manner. His association with the institute started when he attended an eye-opening seminar organised by the organisation’s regional station at Madikeri, Kodagu.
That first seminar taught him about the varietal wealth of black pepper along with information on various crop production, protection and processing technologies that were being developed at the institute.
Drawing on his experiences from the banking sector, Hoysala was certain that the timely and meticulous adoption of technologies designed to aid crop production were essential to maintaining a profitable plantation.
“The productivity of vines was below the level of expectation and we could hardly harvest six tonnes from an area of 40 acres. We understood that not adopting recommended measures in time, especially to control diseases, could lead to heavy crop loss,” says Hoysala.
“Moreover, we were unaware that instituting shade regulation before the monsoon and irrigation during the summer months would improve the setting of berries and ultimately increase the yield.”
After Hoysala had established a close relationship with the regional station’s scientists, he set about addressing his plantation’s problems one by one.
Shade regulation was the first priority, followed closely by the scheduling of fertiliser, increasing organic inputs fortified with growth-promoting organisms, regularly monitoring the crops for diseases and irrigation during the summer months.
“By adopting these [new and] improved technologies, we have increased the production from six to 12 tonnes. [Which is] on average a two-fold jump within a time span of five years,” said Hoysala.
The plantation’s irrigation system was further strengthened by the construction of water harvesting structures like farm ponds and bore wells. Besides these measures, Hoysala also had pits dug between the rows of coffee plants to harvest run-off water as it also helps with enriching the soil.
The changes extend to pepper cultivation as well. Two years ago, Hoysala took ten acres of land which was used to grow ginger and transformed it into a well-designed pepper plot with silver oaks to serve as standards for the vines and robusta coffee bushes interplanted with the pepper vines.
It currently costs Hoysala a total of Rs 85,000 per acre to implement these measures along with paying the regular operational costs of running the plantation. In return, he earns Rs 1 lakh per acre per annum from the coffee and black pepper grown on the farm, allowing Hoysala to maintain the sustainable, profitable plantation he aspired to.
For further information, contact: M. G. Hoysala, Sri Siddalingeshwara Estate, Hardur P.O., Suntikoppa, Kodagu, Karnataka–571 237, mobile: 09449682430.
Email: hoysala.mg@gmailn and his guiden Dr. S. J. Ankegowda, Principal Scientist and Head, ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research Regional Station, Hervanadu Post, Appangala, Madikeri, Karnataka – 571 201, Phone 08272 – 245451; 245514; 298574. Mobile: 09663069241, email: crc@spices.res.in;gowda@spices.res.in
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source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Agriculture / by M J Prabu / December 29th, 2016
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