The State government has initiated the process of setting up an Agro-Forestry Research Station on 100 acres of land in Madapura of Kodagu district under a project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Announcing this while replying to BJP member Appachhu Ranjan during question hour in the Assembly on Friday, Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences had made a proposal to the government to set up such a research station under the Agro-Forestry Research Project of the ICAR.
Following this, the Agriculture Department had written to the Horticulture Department to provide 100 acres from its 300-acre land in Madapura, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Belagavi – November 25th, 2016
The famed Kodagu coffee estates are experimenting with bee farms to add to incomes so that the forested landscape of this biodiversity hotspot is better able to sequester carbon.
The forested landscape of Kodagu provides ecosystem services. (Photo by S Gopikrishna Warrier)
While honey can sweeten coffee for the drinker, coffee farmers of Kodagu district of Karnataka are realising that raising bees for honey in the farms can sweeten their economic returns. It is one of the innovative methods being tried out in the district to provide additional financial incentives to coffee farmers so that they conserve the landscape they have inherited.
The concept of payment for ecosystem services (PES) is evolving from eco-certified coffee to that of landscape labelling of Kodagu. If the forests, coffee agro-forestry, rice fields, sacred groves, rivers and streams of Kodagu together provide ecosystem services and climate resilience to the communities living in the hills and the plains, why should not there be payment for sustaining these services?
According to a report on PES prepared by the College of Forestry at Ponnampet, Kodagu, the district has been identified as a micro-hotspot of biodiversity under the larger Western Ghats region. There is tree cover across as much as 81% of the district.
Natural forest ecosystems cover an area of 46% of the total area of the district. This includes evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous, dry deciduous and scrub forest types. Evergreen forests also include the high-altitude shola forests along with grasslands.
Key ecosystem services
Biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water regulation are the key ecosystem services from the Kodagu landscape. In addition to the economic benefit, there are also provisional, regulating, cultural and supporting services from the landscape. Thus, while eco-certification of coffee can help individual farmers, landscape labelling can benefit the district in its entirety, giving incentive to the communities to plan their development sustainably.
Charulata Somal, chief executive officer of the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat (district council), says that if PES can help channel money for the communities to conserve their landscape, there is a possibility of meeting the genuine aspirations of the people without compromising on the environment. “We plan to take the concept of PES through the elected representatives from the district.”
The PES report from the College of Forestry estimates the economic value of the various ecosystem services in Kodagu. The nutrient recycled has a value between INR 237 and INR 1167 per hectare, with a mean value of INR 700 per ha. The economic value of timber is between INR 530 and INR 8340 per ha. The recreational value of biodiversity is estimated as INR 27,000 per ha.
High sequestration
Carbon sequestration, according to the report, varies from 77 tonnes per ha to 207 tonnes per ha. Even at 90 tonnes per ha and an assumed price for carbon at USD 10 per tonne, the economic valuation is INR 40,500 per hectare.
The project for promoting bee farming (apiculture) in coffee estates was started after a study found the strong economic impact of pollination services of bees from sacred groves adjacent to the coffee farms. Kodagu has 1,214 sacred groves under community management, covering 2,550 hectares interspersed with coffee estates.
Rice paddies in Kodagu. (Photo by S Gopikrishna Warrier)
While Arabica coffee is self-pollinated, Robusta is cross-pollinated. “We researched the interaction between bees in the sacred groves and Robusta coffee to understand what the pollination impact is,” said C.G. Kushalappa, university head for forestry and environment sciences at the College of Forestry in Ponnampet. “Our research proved that in Robusta close to 31% of productivity could be increased if there is sufficient population of honeybees around the farm.”
This research, implemented by the College of Forestry under the Managing Trade-Offs in Coffee Agroforestry (MOCA) project in partnership with ETH University at Zurich, Switzerland, opened the possibility of increasing income for coffee farmers by integrating apiculture into coffee systems.
A premium for honey
“Kodagu honey has a premium in the market because it comes from the flowers of multiple species,” said R.N. Kencharaddi, assistant professor of agricultural entomology at the College of Forestry. “Honey collected from bee keeping in coffee agro-forestry system can get the premium price.”
The college introduced bee boxes in 40 farmers’ fields in 2015 at a density of four to five colonies (bee boxes) per acre, so that they can grow their own bees and produce honey. The team has been researching to select bee colonies that have the most desirable traits for propagation.
“We are looking for bees that do not abscond from their colonies and do not divide into new colonies before the hive is fully built,” said Kencharaddi. “We also check whether the bees are efficient at collecting honey and have disease resistance. Most important, we check on their ferocity, for we do not want the bees to attack the farmers.”
Apis cerana indica or the Indian honeybee is the species that the college is using for propagation. Though the college has not yet done any research on the subject, beehives have been successfully used in East Africa to protect farms from ravaging elephant herds. If this is experimented with and found successful then it could also serve as an additional benefit for Kodagu farmers, who are tired of elephant herds destroying their crops.
“There are elephant herds in Kodagu in which calves and young adults have not seen the forests,” explained M.C. Cushalappa, a coffee farmer from Siddhapura. “These herds have moved out of natural forests years ago and not returned since. They move from farms to villages, without returning to their natural habitat.”
The species of bees used in East Africa and that used in Kodagu are different, according to Kencharaddi. The specie of the African bees that scare elephants is Apis mellifera caucasica, which are more ferocious than their Indian counterparts. The African bees also come out during the night, whereas the ones that the college is working with are active only during daylight.
With bees feeding on the flowers of multiple trees to give premium quality honey, there would be a greater incentive for coffee farmers for protecting their landscape, according to Kushalappa. “This is how we are evolving into the concept of getting landscape labelling for produce from Kodagu’s coffee agro-forestry systems — coffee, honey, pepper and cardamom. Once we can get a brand presence for the Kodagu landscape, the farmers can market multiple produce. Depending on the prices the farmer can move the appropriate produce to the market.”
With the CEO of the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat committing to get elected representatives oriented to the concept of PES and landscape labelling, this method of promoting produce from Kodagu even while conserving the environment is likely to grow wings in near future. Honey with coffee could become the trigger for this.
(This piece was originally published on India Climate Dialogue and has been reproduced here with permission.)
source: http://www.thenewsminute.com / The News Minute / Home / by S. Gopikrishna Warrier / Monday -November 07th, 2016
The Karnataka Planters Association (KPA) on Thursday urged the Centre for an amendment in Rule 7B of Income Tax Rules.
According to KPA Chairman Baba P S Bedi, “In Rule 7B of Income Tax Rules, they consider ‘Coffee Curing’ as value-addition. If you cure coffee, you can’t drink it. However, you can drink it, only once it is roasted and powdered. How can they treat it as value-addition?”
KPA will submit a memorandum routed through The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI) to the central government to amend Rule 7B R/w Section 2 (1A) of Income Tax Act so as to give effect to the changes in the ruling to cover ‘Coffee Curing’ is within the meaning of ‘Coffee Grown’.
The Government of India is keen to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from April 1, 2017. Bedi said, “If coffee is made taxable under GST, input tax paid by the agriculturist on inputs used or consumed by the agriculturist in growing this product should be allowed to be set off.”
Appointment of chairman
A full-term chairman of Coffee Board has not been appointed yet.
“We have requested the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to appoint a full-time chairman to the board. The former chairman Jawaid Akthar’s tenure came to an end on May 11, 2015,” a statement from KPA said.
However, Leena Nair, a 1982 batch IAS officer from Tamil Nadu cadre, was given the additional charge of Chairman, Coffee Board.
Currently, the 1997 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, M K Shanmuga Sundaram, has been accorded with the additional charge of the post of Chairman in the Coffee Board, Bengaluru, under the Department of Commerce.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Business / DHNS – Bengaluru, October 14th, 2016
Kodagu, in Karnataka, is the main catchment area of the river Cauvery – and the environmental health of this district has a direct impact on the river itself. As the battle between states continues over the sharing of Cauvery waters, we visit the source of the river to see the ecological challenges at the birthplace of this precious river.
Kodagu’s Cauvery – A River In Trouble
PUBLISHED ON: OCTOBER 6, 2016 | DURATION: 18 MIN, 49 SEC
04:12 / 18:48
Near Ponnapet in Virajpet taluk, Kodagu district, the sight that greets the visitor is one of lush paddy fields extending till the very edge of the horizon. However, a wide stretch of land leaden with construction material with a tiny makeshift office, is a blemish on Kodagu’s otherwise pristine landscape.
White boards reading Converted Site For Sale and pointing, rather ironically, towards verdant green fields is a common sight across the district. Interestingly, some of these plots cost more than a flat in the heart of Bengaluru.
Reflecting on the sharp spurt in the price of land in the district in the past decade, president of the Coorg Wildlife Society, Colonel CP Muthanna said, “Ten years ago, an acre cost Rs 7 lakh. Now, it is almost Rs 1 crore, and many layouts have cropped up in the last five years.” The many residential enclaves that have cropped up, mostly on wetlands and agricultural fields, might have resulted in the land prices shoot up, but they have had a disastrous effect on the flow of rain water into the many streams and brooks that feed the Cauvery River, which originates in the district. A school built on paddy fields near Gonikoppa in Virajpet is faced with the problem of flooding almost annually.
However, it is those who practise agriculture who have to bear the brunt of these ill-thought out development projects. Gopakumar M, who has been studying otters in the Cauvery River, said, “Paddy was the primary crop that was grown by farmers here. Now, cultivation has come down by 50%, since many have abandoned it because of labour costs, irregular rainfall pattern and lack of business.”
However, Muthanna laid the blame at the government’s feet, for its failure to encourage cultivation of indigenous varieties of paddy. “Sellers are saying that they are giving up because of high labour costs and rainfall patterns; they aren’t good enough reasons. Most sell them for the money,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Bangalore / Aditi Sequeira / TNN / October 15th, 2016
Karnataka planters’ body favours separate body on the lines of Upasi Tea Research Foundation
Bengaluru :
Concerned over low and stagnating productivity levels, and dwindling area under the Arabicas, coffee growers in Karnataka — the largest producing State — are seeking a renewed thrust in research activity to boost yields.
Seeking to play an active role in such research, the Karnataka Planters Association (KPA), the apex body of coffee growers, has mooted a proposal to set up a separate body in the state on the lines of UPASI Tea Research Foundation.
“We want to have a separate research body for coffee in Karnataka like the UPASI TRF. We have approached the State government for funding such an initiative,” said Baba PS Bedi, Chairman, KPA. Karnataka accounts for 70 per cent of the 3.48 lakh tonnes of coffee produced in the country.
Speaking ahead of KPA’s annual conference, Bedi said the State-run Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI) has not been able to meet the growers’ requirement of clonal planting material nor had come up with new high yielding or disease resistant varieties in the recent past. “In the current year, the CCRI distributed only 10,000 Robusta Clones in Chikmagalur and Hassan districts, which amounts to 20 acres of plant material and is grossly inadequate … It is quite apparent that CCRI does not have the means at its disposal to propagate large number of clones/tissue culture plant material. Therefore, it is imperative that this research is outsourced as productivity levels are low, costs of production cannot be met and Arabica plantations are dwindling in number,” Bedi said.
KPA and UPASI have already made a proposal to the Karnataka government on setting up a facility for clonal propagation and tissue culture planting material at the latter’s research station in Koppa, Chikmagalur. Global majors such as Nestle, that have a major interest in coffee, would also be involved in the research efforts, Bedi added.
Backing KPA’s proposal on a separate research facility, Upasi President D Vinod Shivappa said a renewed thrust on research efforts was required to make coffee production sustainable.
Further, Bedi also said that KPA was concerned about dwindling Arabica plantations due to the high incidence of white stem borer, leaf rust and low productivity.
He said CCRI should consider import of Arabica varieties that are resistant to white stem borer, leaf rust and genetically proven to be high-yielders under the multi collaborative research project co-ordinated by the World Coffee Research organisation.
Exempt from GST
On the proposed GST regime, Bedi said if coffee is made taxable under GST, the input tax paid by the grower or agriculturist on inputs used or consumed by the agriculturist in growing this product should be allowed to be set-off.
The entire process of coffee growing up to the stage of its curing should be considered as an ‘intermediary stage’ of coffee production and exempted from the provisions of GST, the KPA chairman said.
‘Coffee’ seeds cannot be consumed till they are roasted and ground. Therefore, taxable event under GST should commence from the stage of its value addition that is when coffee is roasted and ground. “If a grower or agriculturist is not allowed to avail input tax credit, then there should be an exemption from GST on all inputs including fertilisers and chemicals used by an ‘agriculturist’,” Bedi added.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Economy> Agri Business / The Hindu Bureau / Bengaluru – October 13th, 2016
International Coffee Day was celebrated in Kodagu by giving piping hot coffee to tourists at Dubare elephant camp.
Representatives of 77 nations are members of the International Coffee Association and the Coffee Day is celebrated worldwide to promote coffee sales on par with prouction.
Woman folk took the lead in coffee awareness programme. Kodagu deputy commissioner R V D’souza inaugurated the coffee show. He said Kodagu produces the best quality coffee while stressing the need for better marketing.
Madikeri DFO Edukondalu opined that such awareness campaigns will help increase coffee consumption.
Senior scientist from Appangala Research Station Dr. Ankegowda said coffee is a healthy drink and many researches have proved it.
Convener of the women team of coffee awareness campaign Chitra Subbaiah announced that more and more awareness campaigns will be conducted in coming days. She appealed to the tourism department to provide Kodagu coffee to tourists who visit the district.
Several coffee products were exhibited during the coffee festival. In Madikeri also several organizations served coffee to tourists at Raja Seat.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Mysore / TNN / October 03rd, 2016
Single-origin Indian coffee will be available for the first time in Starbucks, Seattle, as a limited edition Photo: PTI
Americans, who thrive on Starbucks, will get a taste of a single-origin coffee from India’s Coorg region for the first time. BHUMIKA K. gives you a peek into what the cup holds
A small lot of speciality coffee from Karnataka’s famed Coorg region is getting ready to make its limited edition and exclusive debut later this year at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle, America, considered a shrine almost in the world of high-end coffee.
It is for the first time that the leading American coffee company will offer a single-origin coffee from India in the U.S.
While the formal deal has been inked between Starbucks and Tata Coffee Ltd recently, here is looking deeper into what that cuppa might hold, right from where it was grown. For starters, it is said to be intensely fragrant and aromatic, “with notes of caramel, citrus, toasted nuts, and milk chocolate”.
Grown in two-tier shade, the Nullore Estate coffee is a microlot / Photo: Special arrangement
The coffee comes, not surprisingly, from the largest Arabica plantation (394 hectares) in Coorg district, from the Nullore estate owned by Tata Coffee Limited, close to Madikeri. These Arabicas are grown under a two-tier shade system (under local and fruit bearing trees). The shade is carefully managed, which helps the coffee bean mature slowly, absorbing the natural “organoleptic” characteristics within – which gives it the final smell and taste. Coorg is considered to have the perfect agro-climate and soil suitable for coffee cultivation.
Coorg is known for its coffee and Nullore Estate, that belongs to Tata Coffee, is one of the largest Arabica plantations in the district Photo: AFP
“When we cupped the Tata Nullore Estates coffee we noticed this coffee was different from other Indian coffees. The flavour of this rare coffee exemplified the types of unusual coffees we want to deliver under our Starbucks Reserve Programme,” says Andrew Linnemann, Vice President, global coffee quality and engagement at Starbucks Coffee Company. The Starbucks Reserve Programme is an ongoing series of the rarest and most exotic coffees — unique, small-lot coffees that the company creates, roasting them in Seattle. “Each coffee is one-of-a-kind — sourced from small coffee-growing regions in Latin America, Africa and Asia, Pacific Islands. All Starbucks Reserve coffees are roasted with care, at our Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle, to bring out their peak flavour expression,” adds Linnemann.
“Nullore Estate coffee was a microlot,” points out Sanjiv Sarin, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Coffee Ltd. Microlots are generally considered the “cream of the crop” from an estate, and of course come with a unique taste and a story behind it; they are usually sold in small quantities, mostly only a few kilos. Therefore, they are pricier. “We have been working on premium differentiated coffees for some months now and set up a process to identify potential blocks in our estates whose coffees will qualify. Nullore passed our assessment. A small batch of carefully-cultivated coffee was isolated from the regular farm produce, handpicked and sun dried. Producing quality microlots is a meticulous and tedious process,” reiterates Sarin.
It is technology driven too, including using light-sensitive spectrometers to ensure that the coffee beans mature slowly but uniformly. The shade also means that there is natural mulching from the leaves that fall onto the ground, which in turn helps avoid the use of strong fertilizers and pesticides. Sustainable cultivation practices and an endeavour to maintain the ecological balance were also the focus. The Nullore Estate coffee will be available at the Seattle tasting room later this year, and only for a limited period. The pricing has not yet been decided.
The first Indian coffee to be available through Starbucks was introduced in 2013, to celebrate the Tata-Starbucks first anniversary in the India market. Starbucks created a special India-sourced coffee, called ‘India Estates Blend’, as a tribute to its customers, partners, coffee producers, and roasters. But it was sourced, roasted, packaged, and sold in India. Explaining the difference between a blend and single-origin coffee, Sarin describes how a coffee blend is a combination of coffees from different origins that, when put together, create an experience or flavour profile that does not exist by itself.
“A single-origin coffee comes from one, geographic place (country, region, town, community, estate, mill or farm). This gets to a coffee’s very specific provenance. They represent a ‘taste of place’.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metroplus / Bhumika K / Bengaluru – July 25th, 2016
The government is considering withdrawal of the Coffee Act, 1942, as it “no longer serves the purpose”, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The Minister was replying to a supplementary during Question Hour on the role of the Coffee Board, especially with regard to small growers, and why it was headless for the past two years.
“Over the years, the role of the Coffee Board has changed and many provisions of the existing Act have become redundant, especially after abolition of the Coffee Pooling System in 1996,” she said, adding that it had been proposed to repeal the Act which was enacted more than 70 years back and enact a new Coffee Bill, 2016.
The suggestions received on the Bill were “regarding the control of the coffee industry, definition of coffee and coffee estate, cognisance of offence under the Act, etc, which are being examined,” she added.
Output decline
In reply to a question from Prathap Simha from Coorg, the Minister said domestic coffee production was likely to fall by 8 per cent in the current fiscal, due mainly to lack of timely rains.
“It has been estimated that there is a likelihood of a decline in coffee production in 2016-17 by 8 per cent compared with 2015-16 due to lack of timely rains and high temperature during the crucial flowering stage,” Sitharaman said.
On another supplementary on whether the government would mandate international coffee chains in India to buy Indian coffee, Sitharaman said the country was home to 2 per cent of the world’s coffee growing area, but produced 4 per cent of global production and had a share of 5 per cent of world coffee exports, worth over Rs. 5,000 crore a year. So, even though international coffee chains have set up shop in India, they do buy coffee locally, she said.
The main buyers of Indian coffee are Italy, Russian Federation, Germany, Belgium and Turkey, which account for over 50 per cent of coffee exports from India, she added.
Duncan tea gardens
On another supplementary by Trinamool’s Saugata Roy who wanted to know how many closed tea gardens’ belonging to the Duncan group in West Bengal had been taken over by the Centre “as promised four months ago”, Sitharaman said the government had moved to take over some tea gardens, but there was litigation by the Duncan group. The Minister said the process to identify new agencies to take over the management of these tea gardens was on, in consultation with the state government.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Economy> AgriBusiness / The Hindu Bureau / New Delhi – July 25th, 2016
India’s coffee production is expected to drop by 8.05 per cent during 2016-17 compared to a record production of 3.48 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 owing to high temperature during summer months.
For the year 2016-17, the Coffee Board placed the post-blossom crop forecast at 3.20 lakh tonnes, comprising one lakh tonnes of Arabica and 2.20 lakh tonnes of Robusta, an overall decline of 28,000 tonnes (-8.05%) over the previous year.
The drop is mainly in Karnataka (22,175 tonnes) followed by Kerala (6,730 tonnes). The causes could be the delayed blossom and showers coupled with high temperatures especially in major coffee growing areas of Karnataka and Kerala.
In most of the coffee areas of Karnataka, estates with irrigation facilities have irrigated their Robusta plantations for one round of blossom during February-March and with one round of backing irrigation. However, due to absence of subsequent natural showers, even the irrigated estates have suffered some setback due to prevailing high temperatures, according to Coffee Board officials.
Scattered, uneven blossom
Coffee growing regions of Karnataka received the first spell of summer showers only in April and these showers were scanty and isolated. These showers did not cause any blossom in Arabica estates but resulted in scattered, uneven blossom in un-irrigated Robusta fields, which constitute about 40 per cent of the Robusta area in Karnataka.
Officials said this resulted in pinking and scorching of buds in Robusta. The growers were unable to take up supplementary irrigations to top up the scanty showers due to drying up of water resources.
The post-blossom estimate of Arabica for 2016-17 has shown a decrease of -3.38% (3,500 tonnes) over the corresponding figure of 2015-16, while the Robusta estimate has shown a decrease of -10.02 per cent (24,500 tonnes) over the last year’s figure (2015-16).
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / Nagesh Prabhu / Bengaluru – July 19th, 2016
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