| "This is the only area in the country where coffee is grown without using fertilisers and pesticides, and organic coffee fetches a premium price in the international market compared with other coffee. Keeping this in mind, we have drawn up plans to increase the production in this area," Jairam Ramesh, Union minister of state for commerce, told mediapersons here on Thursday. |
| Tribals cultivate coffee in about 75,000 acres in 11 mandals of the Paderu zone. The Coffee Board and the Integrated Tribal Development Agency would bear the expenditure equally for development of coffee plantation. Each acre requires Rs 25,000 for organic coffee cultivation. |
| Besides increasing cultivated area, the ministry has taken steps to market the product. "We are negotiating with private players to market Paderu organic coffee. ITC has already taken 200 tonne of coffee. We are expecting some other private companies to come forward to market the coffee," the minister stated. After increasing the area of cultivation, organic coffee production would double to 8,000 tonne from the present 4,000 tonne a year in the zone. |
| The other decision of the ministry included setting up of 11 coffee pulp processing units with a capacity of 500 kg per hour in the zone. |
| Along with increase in organic coffee, organic black pepper production, which is being cultivated as intercrop, would also increase to 750 tonne per year from the existing 375 tonne, according to the minister. |
| "We have directed the Agriculture Processed Foods Export Development Authority to ensure better price for jack fruit in the Paderu zone, which produces about 5 lakh tonne a year." |
| Jairam Ramesh appealed to the state government to take proper steps to protect coffee plantations from any negative impact due to bauxite mining in the area. |
| "I personally am against indiscriminate mining, but in the interests of the alumina industry, I suggest sustainable mining," he observed. |
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