CM N Chandrababu Naidu: State must increase coffee production

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, asked officials to increase coffee cultivation in Visakhapatnam agency area from 55,000 hectares to 1 lakh hectares. Mr Naidu met the officials regarding coffee cultivation, in Vizag agency area on Sunday.

Mr Naidu said compared to other states, the area being used for cultivation of coffee in AP is low because of geographical conditions in the Vizag agency area and because farmers were not adopting technology.

He said Karnataka and other states produced 700 kg of coffee per hectare, against 170 kg per hectare in AP. He asked the integrated tribal development agency officials to train tribals in the use of technology.

He said coffee from AP could be branded so that the tribals could earn more. Former Coffee Board chairman, Krishna Rao, made a presentation on increasing the coffee output.