Untimely rains spell trouble for Karnataka’s coffee harvest, planters seek govt intervention

“Arecanut has faced similar issues where the yield is dropping from the tree. For the last three years we have been facing the problem of black rot disease in coffee, which has hit the yield,” he added.

In Kodagu too, the rain has brought misery for farmers. “This is the season for harvesting coffee and drying it, but due to the rainfall over the last one week, the berry has started to drop. It has become difficult to dry it. Now we are only harvesting Arabica coffee, but by December we have to start harvesting Robusta coffee. Along with labour issues, the growers are worried about the berries dropping,” said Ponnacha, a coffee grower in Madikeri, Kodagu.

In the Kodagu region, spices like black pepper and cardamom which are produced in coffee estates, have also perished, besides the paddy fields which were washed away in the rains.

Coffee berries being dried on firewood | Express photo

Chengappa, who grows coffee at Virajpet in Kodagu, said small planters like him are particularly facing problems due to the rains. “The big planters have installed dryer machines in their estates, which can protect their yield, while we are looking for alternative methods to dry the berries using firewood. This is going to have a huge impact on our income,” he lamented. Usually, the ripened berry is dried under the sun but the circumstances have forced many to utilise firewood stoves.

Coffee planters in the state had hoped for a better crop this time after a gap of four years, largely due to the floods triggered by the rains. This year, the unseasonal rain in November has damaged standing crops mid-harvest.

The coffee growers’ association says the price of 50 kg of coffee beans in the market is now almost equal to the price in 1995.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Kaibulira Harish Appaiah, president of Kodagu Growers’ Association said, “In 1995, the 50 kg robusta cherry coffee bag had a price of Rs 3,500. Now in 2021, the same price continues, while labour charge and the cost of fertilizers have increased.”

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Planters’ Association on Monday urged the Centre to extend the tenure of loans availed by coffee growers, payable over a period of seven years. Karnataka Planters’ Association president S Appadurai sought relief saying the sector is going through a crisis and the association suggested that these rescheduled loans could carry an annual interest rate of 10 per cent, but the interest burden should be shared equally by the Centre, banks and growers.

“Harvesting during rains is very challenging and spreading beans in the drying yard has become difficult. In the last coffee season also, labour shortage due to the Covid-19 pandemic led to the entire crop not being harvested. Hence, we urge the Centre to direct banks not to invoke the provisions of the Sarfaesi Act and auction the pledged plantations to recover dues,” Appadurai said.

Karnataka accounts for 70 per cent of India’s coffee production. The exact extent of the damage to coffee crops is yet to be assessed by the government.