Kalimpong (West Bengal ):
Four hundred farmers from Kalimpong have been selected to cultivate coffee in the land of tea nearly two centuries after British civil surgeon Archibald Campbell started tea plantations in the Hills way back in 1841.
Among them, 50 had been to the Coffee Research Institute at Chikmangalur in September. They will train the selected farmers.
Members of the Indian Coffee Board, agronomists who had come down to Kalimpong gave the goahead after preliminary soil tests and the weather conditions. A cool to temperate climate is ideal for coffee as it is for tea.
The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration had identified 400 acres of land in Kalimpong for coffee cultivation as a pilot project. The four such clusters are spread over Bhalokhop, Algarah, Gidbaling and Lolay Gaon, each having around 10-12 villages. Experts cleared the proposal for mass cultivation after the initial farming came out successful. “The idea is to develop a coffee brand, much like the Darjeeling tea. We have already advertised e-tenders for prospective agencies and will start the cultivation from June,” said Samuel Rai, director of Cinchona and Other Medicinal Plants in Mungpo. The land was lying idle for all these days after the state government shut the cinchona unit.
Experts have conducted workshops for five days with farmers and officials of the hill council. “Earlier, we had sent some farmers for training but the time was short. So we requested the Coffee Board to send experts to the hills to conduct workshop and interact with the farmers,” Rai said.
To maintain quality, GTA will only cultivate the Chandgiri variety of coffee beans. A central factory will also be set up in Kalimpong. “We will use the best quality seeds of the Arabic variety, which is more aromatic with less caffeine content. Also, the variety is suitable for the Hills. Roasting and grinding will be done in a centralized factory, but all other aspects, like peeling the skin, parchment and dehauling, will be done in the cluster level,” the Cinchona director said.
BV Suresh Kumar, deputy director (Research) Coffee Board, who was one of the team members, said: “Coffee cultivation in Kalimpong is in its infant stage. There is potential to be economically viable in the long run. The flavour is there but the yield has to be assessed,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kolkata News / by Deep Gazmer / TNN / June 05th, 2018
