Karnataka-based coffee planters have urged the Union commerce ministry to extend the mechanisation scheme with an investment of Rs 300 crore during the 12th five-year plan starting in 2012.
The scheme was launched with an allocation of Rs 50 crore at the beginning of the current financial year, on a trial basis. The scheme provides for funding of machines at a subsidised rate.
“We have urged the ministry, in consultation with the coffee board, to continue this scheme for the next five years, as mechanisation is inevitable in the days ahead. The scheme should be made applicable to all categories of growers, irrespective of size of holdings, including cooperatives and corporate sector,” Sahadev Balakrishna, president of Karnataka Planters’ Association (KPA) told Business Standard.
This year, the ministry has launched the scheme only for small growers and has left out medium and big growers. The planters have also demanded inclusion of other implements a subsidy of 50 per cent for all categories, with a maximum limit of Rs 10 lakh, he said.
The KPA recently held a meeting with ministry officials for revamping of several schemes and programmes for the coffee plantation sector during the 12th plan.
They also asked for a substantial increase in allocation for rejuvenation of coffee gardens by removing old trees and plantation of new trees. “Replanting is the important investment for growers which forms the basis for improving production and productivity of the estates, as it ensures replacing aged and low-yielding coffee plants,” Balakrishna said.
Presently, the cost of replanting Arabica gardens is Rs 1 lakh per hectare and Rs 70,000 per hectare for Robusta varieties. The planters have sought an increase of 75 per cent in the allocation for Arabica to Rs 1.7 lakh per hectare and a 71.4 per cent rise in the allocation for Robusta at Rs 1.2 lakh per hectare during the 12th plan. The growers have sought revision in the percentage of subsidy from 40 per cent to 60 per cent for coffee holdings up to two hectares and 50 per cent for holdings between two to 10 hectares from the present 30 per cent.
For holdings above 10 hectares, the KPA has sought 40 per cent subsidy as against 25 per cent. It has also urged the ministry to include the co-operative and corporate sector for the replanting subsidy, for the first time. “We request the scheme to be released in three installments and the process for interlining be made more user-friendly and more streamlined,” he said.
Normally, the Arabica trees are uprooted and replanted after 35-40 years and Robusta trees are replenished after 60-80 years depending on the yield, Balakrishna added.