The state is experimenting with tea and coffee plantations as part of its attempt to diversify crop
Has Chhattisgarh awakened to the fragrance of coffee? Coffee cultivation, long thought to be a southern preserve, appears to be moving north. After a few ambitious farmer entrepreneurs established coffee and tea plantations in the state, things began to heat up.
A coffee plantation exists in the Jashpur district of North Chhattisgarh, and another was established in 2017 on 20 acres in Darbha, Bastar. Tea is cultivated on an ashram in Surguja and on 20 acres in Sarudih, Jashpur. Chhattisgarh, which has been working to diversify its agricultural production, saw an opportunity. On October 17, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced the formation of the Chhattisgarh Tea Coffee Board.
Paddy is currently Chhattisgarh’s main crop, earning the state the moniker “Rice Bowl of India.” The crop is grown on around 25-30 lakh hectares in the state, accounting for almost half of the net seeded area. In reality, paddy acreage has increased in recent years, rising from 20 lakh ha in 2014-15 to 27 lakh ha in 2020-21.
In an ironic twist, the rationale for the rise in paddy acreage and output has also become the motivation for the state to support the growing of other crops. Chhattisgarh offers farmers the highest payment among all states for paddy—Rs. 600 per quintal as a bonus, though it stubbornly refuses to call it that—over and above the Centre’s MSP (minimum support price). As a result, the state’s paddy output and buying have grown.
In the 2018-19 season, around 8 million tonnes of paddy were procured; this increased to 8.3 million tonnes in 2019-20, and 9.2 million tonnes the following year. The proportion of farmers selling their paddy to the government as opposed to the free market has also improved, from 92.6 percent in 2018-19 to 94.02 percent in 2019-20, and to 95.4% in 2020-21, making Chhattisgarh the second-largest procurer of paddy among all states. However, in terms of rice output, the state ranks eighth in the country, with West Bengal being the top producer.
The purchase of paddy is also causing significant withdrawals of state government monies to service the bonus payment. The Union and state governments frequently clash, with the former refusing to elevate stocks while accusing the latter of manipulating the market through incentive payments. While a bonus may be excellent politics, it has a significant impact on the state’s financial stability. The bonus amounts are paid in many instalments, indicating a lack of cash.
In this context, the state administration has been gradually attempting to diversify agriculture. Schemes to encourage the production of other crops have been announced. Farmers who plant coarse grains such as kodo kutki or soybean, sugarcane, maize, or pulses receive an input subsidy of Rs. 10,000 per acre, whilst those who grow rice receive less. Tea and coffee are also included in this diversification effort, but on a lower scale.
Ravindra Chaubey, the state’s agricultural minister, will preside over the Chhattisgarh Tea Coffee Board. The board, which will also include ex-officio members, has been entrusted with boosting beverage cultivation in the state as well as giving marketing assistance to producers. The CM also stated that tea and coffee growers will be included in the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, a government initiative that procures foodgrains in exchange for a bonus over the MSP.
Importantly, the state administration has set a lofty goal of increasing beverage crop production to 10,000 acres over the next three years. While tea and coffee are now grown on a small scale in North Chhattisgarh, the government believes that coffee growing may be expanded in the Bastar division of South Chhattisgarh. Coffee farms may be found in Araku, Andhra Pradesh, just over the border from Chhattisgarh.
Aside from AP, coffee production is practised in Karnataka, which accounts for more than two-thirds of total coffee growing area in the nation, as well as Kerala and Tamil Nadu.