Nagaland eyes coffee plantation on 5K hectares of land by 2019

Nagaland government Land Resources Department in collaboration with the Coffee Board of India is taking up coffee plantation covering an area of 5,000 hectares across the state by 2019-2020.
The plantation will be carried out by 10,000 household in all the districts of the state, Director of Land Resources Department, Mhathung Yanthan told reporters here today.
Kohima district will have the highest cultivation in a total area of 774 hectares by 1,548 households while Kiphire and Longleng districts have the least with 345 hectare each for 690 households.
The programme commenced during 2015-16, wherein 6 lakh coffee saplings were raised and planted in 230 hectares by 450 households in seven districts of the state.

According to the plan, the land to be used for coffee plantation will be 917 hectares in 2016-17, 1,190 hectares in 2017-18, In 2018-19 1,710 hectares and 953 hectares in 2019-20, Mhathung said.
Coffee plantation had been taken up in the state some decades ago but it was stopped as the farmers faced problem of market avenues.

As a part of the plan, the Department has invited South African coffee expert Dr Pieter to provide required technical and marketing techniques to the coffee farmers of the state.
Stating that the department has worked out the marketing strategy, he expressed hope that the state would be able to produce quality organic coffee for export as well as for local consumption.

Pieter said he is optimistic that Nagaland has infrastructure, natural fertile soil and favourable climatic condition for for large scale coffee production.
In the projected 5,000 hectares, Nagaland can produce over 8,000 MT of coffee within the next five years, said Pieter who visited some of the selected coffee plantation areas in Kohima, Wokha, Zunheboto and Mokokchung districts.