Taste branded Malabar Coffee' soon

Kalpetta: We will soon be able to taste 'Malabar Coffee' processed from carbon neutral Wayanad plantations. This globally branded coffee is a dream project being pursued by Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac during the last many years.

There will be three-levels of intervention with state-of-the-art processing facilities at KINFRA mega food processing park- a Rs 150-crore project, categorizing coffee plantations on account of local agrarian climate and improving quality of beans, and finally global branding of the coffee processed from carbon neutral Wayanad hills as Malabar Coffee. Mr Isaac hopes that once the project is implemented at the time of procurement of coffee beans itself, the price ranging from 25 percent to 100 percent above the market rate will be transferred to the account of farmers.

As per his budget announcement, it will be ensured that the farmers get 20 percent of the retail price of coffee powder made from one kilogram of coffee beans. Now the farmer gets only 10 percent of the retail price of coffee powder, it was pointed out.

To reduce carbon emissions, Rs 50 per year will be given to farmers for each tree as incentive for 10 years.

As a first step towards realising this dream, a pilot project was launched in 2016 in Meenangadi village panchayat where 7.5 lakh seedlings were planted in the farm lands to reduce carbon emissions.

A carbon footprint survey was conducted identifying the quantity of bio-degradable and non bio-degradable waste generated, finalising the varieties of trees to be planted in specific zones and also picking up various methods to process biodegradable waste.

Meenangadi panchayat president Beena Vijayan told DC that the first incentive distribution to farmers will be held in September. A sum of Rs 10 crore was allocated to the panchayat for the pilot project.

The project also envisaged a tree mortgaging scheme which helps the farmer to get a loan from bank mortgaging the tree which will be repaid when the tree is cut. The panchayat will provide surety to the bank for the scheme.

However, the mortgaging project is yet to take off due to financial constraints.  Beena Vijayan said that talks were on with NABARD for implementing the tree mortgaging project.

The coffee farmers of Wayanad welcomed the move saying that the government should ensure all steps to make the dream a reality to save the farmers as well as nature. Thankappan Payikkatt, a farmer at Vakery near Sulthan Bathery, lamented that at present the price of beans was around Rs 116 per kg while that of husk coffee is Rs 66 per kg.  "There has been no significant increase in coffee price for the last many years," he said and added that considering the increased production cost, the farmer should get at least Rs 200 per kg for beans.