‘Encourage coffee cultivation’

KORAPUT: Members of Orissa Coffee Growers’ Association have urged the State Government to encourage coffee cultivation in undivided KBK districts.

At a meeting held in Damanjodi recently, the association secretary, Saroj Kumar Swain, opined that the government should use the unutilised hilly areas in the KBK region for coffee cultivation. Since the coffee of Koraput region has demand even in the international market, the State Government should encourage the tribals to take up its cultivation in a large scale, he pointed out.

Later, association vice-president U.N. Burma said though the government, through various programmes, had provided support to the tribals for taking up coffee cultivation, it is not enough. Thousands of tribals are still interested in this ‘profession.’

Besides, massive coffee plantation in the region would minimise the impact of industrial pollution, he added. Association president T. Srinivash Rao said for coffee cultivation, the Government should lease out the unutilised land to tribal farmers only.

Rao also urged the Government to declare the mixed commodity agri-export zone in all the eight districts of Eastern Ghats region. A draft proposal was also prepared in this connection and submitted to the Government.