Coffee growers have been told not to treat the recently-launched coffee rainfall insurance scheme as an instrument to gamble.
Speaking at the 115th annual conference of the United Planters Association of Southern India (Upasi), Coffee Board chairman G V Krishna Rau, said, “During the year 2007, nearly 12,000 growers got enlisted for the coffee rainfall insurance scheme and of these, nearly 8,000 secured insurance payouts for they had to face unprecedented monsoon (July-August) rainfall.”
“This year (2008), the coffee growers, looking at the scanty pre-monsoon rains upto June, did not make efforts to enroll or secure cover under the coffee rainfall insurance scheme. Look at them, they recently faced unprecedented seven-day rainfall in July-August where many coffee zones were affected in Karnataka,” he added.
Growers need to be careful just as with other risks. The rainfall patterns are changing and have become more erratic introducing a lot more uncertainties.
“In the last 15 years, the general temperature has risen 2 degrees to 3 degrees. Also, in coffee-growing regions, shade opening to enhance productivity has had its effects. But the after-effects have much a longer life,” said Rau.
“The tree cover normally protects moisture at ground level which in turn protects the plants during adverse climatic variations like no rainfall upto 100 days at a stretch,” he added.
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This year, the monsoon rainfall (June-July ) is less and the rainfall deficit ranges from 9-51 per cent as compared to the last five years. Deficit in rainfall during the present year (2008) did not cause any moisture stress as the soil moisture was adequate due to a good distribution of rainfall in February and March.
Karnataka’s total rainfall was less during 2003 and 2004, whereas the period 2005 to 2007 experienced a good rainfall.
Rainfall in the other coffee-growing states like Tamil Nadu in the summer months (January to May) was 18 per cent less when compared to 2004 and more compared to others years.
“Current year monsoon rainfall (June-July) was more compared to last five years except 2005,” said Rau.
In Kerala the current year’s rainfall has been lesser in all the months except in March compared to the previous five years.
The present year’s monsoon rainfall (June-July) in Kerala ranged from 39 per cent to 68 per cent compared to last year, said Rau.