Tura :
Coffee produced in the Northeast can bring remunerative returns if the beverage is properly packaged and branded.
This was pointed out by West Garo Hills deputy commissioner, Pravin Bakshi, while speaking at a daylong workshop on post harvest management and coffee marketing linkage at the Social Mobilisation Experimentation and Learning Centre in Dakopgre here on Tuesday.
Earlier, Bakshi inaugurated the workshop held with the objective to provide ideas and techniques to expand the coffee growing areas of the region and support farmers.
“The number of coffee growers is gradually rising in the region. Coffee, referred to as brown gold, is not bound by economies of market and depends on the quality of the beans. The beverage needs to be properly graded, branded and packaged for attracting higher returns,” the deputy commissioner said.
The workshop was jointly organised by the Coffee Board, Union ministry of Commerce and Industry, Meghalaya Basin Development Authority and Soil and Water Conservation department.
Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural function, V R G Gowda, the joint director (extension), Coffee Board, ministry of Commerce and Industry, spoke about the establishment of Coffee Board in the region in 1997 and the necessary requirements and climatic conditions required for growing coffee.
He informed that coffee was being cultivated in all the states of Northeast, particularly in Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam and Meghalaya. “There are about 1,700 coffee growers in Meghalaya,” he said.
R.R.B. R Thabah, the director (natural resources management), Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA), Meghalaya, informed the gathering about the purpose of the workshop and called upon the beneficiaries to work together as partners in order to promote agro-forestry in the region.
T N Gopinandhan, bio-chemist, Central Coffee Research Institute, Coffee Board, explained in detail about the methods of processing coffee beans for better quality.
Webstar D Shira shared his experience as a progressive farmer, talking about issues and challenges faced with regard to marketing linkages in the region besides introduction of multiple cropping in his farm land.
source: http://www.theshillongtimes.com / The Shillong Times / Home> Meghalaya / by Staff Correspondent / October 25th, 2017
