Workshop : Coffee Production in India: Problems & Prospects
Program
09.30 – 09.45 Welcome & Introduction to BrIAS.
ir. Annette Hansen - Vrije Universiteit Brussel
09.45 – 10.15 Coffee Production in India: An Introduction
Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya - Georg August-University, Göttingen Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS)
10.15 – 10.45 Growing Coffee in India
Mr. Iychetira Belliappa Bopanna - Coffee Planter, Sampigehalla and Athikaad Estates, Kodagu (Coorg)
10.45 – 11.15 The Farmers of Wayanad
Fr. John Joseph - CMD Biowin Agro Research / Director WSSS Organics
11.15 – 11.30 Break
11.30 – 11.45 Reflections on Coffee Production in India
Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya - Georg August-University, Göttingen Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS)
11.45 – 12.30 Q&A & Discussion Session
Abstracts
Growing Coffee in India
Mr. Iychetira Belliappa Bopanna - Coffee Planter, Sampigehalla and Athikaad Estates, Kodagu (Coorg)
Context:
The current narrative globally is that coffee growing areas are under threat for a host of reasons and that coffee growers will eventually in a few decades from now not be able to produce coffee.
Indian Coffee: Saliant points to note:
India today stands is among the 5th largest coffee producer in the world along with Mexico, Gautemala, Costa Rica and Peru. Our coffee growing regions are among the most diverse in the world within a single origin. The good news is that some of these regions are in the early stages of growing coffee ... and being discovered for its unique cup characteristics. Indian Coffee has the added advantage of being in one of the largest consumer markets in the world with a very low penetration of coffee consumption and a rapidly increasing consumer base where coffee in emerging as an affordable luxury.
Opportunities for Indian Coffee Growers:
While there are, like in any economic activity around agriculture, challenges, there are also opportunities which are facilitated primarily by the intrinsically sustainable coffee farming practices
which Indian Coffee growers have been following for over 150 years.
- All of Indian Coffee is grown under shade of diverse endemic trees.
- Carbon sequestration is massive as a consequence of the above and an untapped opportunity.
- There is an appetite for upgrading on-farm harvesting and post-harvest processing to prepare special coffees for to the rapidly increasing appetite for good coffee in India and coffees with great ‘Provenance based stories” in traditional coffee markets such as Europe and the US.
The challenges: erratic weather due to climate change, crop insurance, availability of bank finance for working capital, R&D support to mitigate reduction of area under Arabica due to the white stem borer, availability of high yielding plant material, growing viable ancillary crops etc., are being addressed by robust public – private partnerships led by Industry Associations, Quasi-Govt. bodies such as the Coffee Bard of India, ICAR, etc. However, the obvious antidote to stop and reverse the biggest challenge, economic viability of coffee growing is working towards increasing the share of Coffee Growers in the Value Chain all the way to the consumer. One of the biggest challenge for coffee growers across the world and no different in India is the increasing pressure of the costs of sustainability (as defined by consuming markets in the west) being passed on to the coffee growers already challenged economic viability of coffee growing.
The Farmers of Wayanad
Fr. John Joseph - CMD Biowin Agro Research / Director WSSS Organics
The Wayanad Social Service Society (WSSS, NGO 1974) is active in Wayanad, Malappuram and Kannur in Kerala and Gudallur in Tamil Nadu. WSSS works with small and marginal farmers, mostly tribal, including women youth and children organising them through farmers' cooperatives, welfare societies and action-based programmes. The aim is economic empowerment of small and marginal groups in a sustainable environment towards the development of an equitable society. In addition to paddy which they grow for their own consumption, organic coffee, spices like black pepper, nutmeg and ginger are produced. The talk will delve into some of the problems faced in the sustainable production process, the measures adopted, and the results achieved so far.