Revival of Coffee Plantations in Karnataka and Kerala

During the monsoon of 2018 there was excessive rainfall in the coffee growing areas of Karnataka and Kerala, causing significant loss to the coffee crops. As per the detailed joint survey conducted by the Coffee Board and the Government of Karnataka, the area affected by crop loss of above 33% is estimated at 99,984 hectares and an area of 550 hectares was damaged due to land slide and flood. As per detailed assessment conducted by Coffee Board in respect of Kerala, the area affected by crop loss of above 33% is estimated at 10,308 hectares and an area of 73.6 hectares was damaged due to land slide and flood.

In majority of these areas only crop loss had occurred. The plants in these areas have already recovered and come back to regular cropping cycle. In the landslide affected areas where coffee plants along with intercrops were uprooted and shade cover was lost, it will require six to seven years to bring back the coffee plantations to the yielding stage.

The Government of Karnataka vide Notification dated 29.09.2018 declared 8 districts and 45 taluks of Karnataka (including 3 coffee growing districts viz., Kodagu, Chikmagalur and Hassan) as flood affected regions as per the guidelines of State Disaster Response Fund(SDRF) / National Disaster Response Fund(NDRF).  Accordingly, these districts are eligible for relief measures as per SDRF/NDRF including rescheduling of existing loans and sanctioning of fresh loans as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines.

The Government of India has provided an amount of ₹ 126.71 croreto the Government of Karnataka under NDRF for compensation to an area of 99,984.86 ha.under crop loss.The Government of Karnataka has extended relief of loan waiver to coffee growers at par with other agriculture loans. A Task Force was constituted under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka to assess the extent of damage due to natural calamity and suggest suitable measures. The report of the Task Force has been received and recommendations have been shared with the respective Ministries / Departments.

The Government of India also released both the instalments of Central Share of SDRF amounting to ₹ 192.60 Crore and ₹ 2904.85 Crore from NDRF to Government of Kerala for relief measures.

This information was given by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.