Correspondent
Nagaland Coffee won a silver plaque at the third annual Aurora International Taste Challenge, which was held in September 2021 near Stellenbosch, South Africa, to celebrate and pay tribute to universal food quality.
Announcing the achievement at a press conference, Land Resources Department (LRD) director A. Pangjung Jamir expressed joy over receiving the award at international level. Even though coffee plantation was a failure in the past, Jamir said returns from Coffee plantation were maximum. Therefore, to elevate the farmer’s income, he said LRD took up the mission in promoting the coffee.
Naga Coffee Pvt. Ltd India managing director and Noble Cause Pvt. Ltd, South Africa, director Dr. Pieter Vermeulen, who was also present at the press conference, informed that COVID pandemic had severely impacted the farmers and his company since he could not export in bulk.
However, Dr. Vermeulen said that during his visit, he collected coffee beans from different districts of Nagaland and took to his hometown and made Nagaland Coffee Tribal Blend scientifically and entered into the competition.
Acknowledging LRD for working well with his company, Dr. Vermeulen said it was a privilege to receive the recognition. Asserting that production should develop consistently, Dr. Vermeulen said Nagaland coffee must be known for its best quality. The managing director also stated that he intends to develop an app to connect the consumer and producers. He hoped to increase production in the next five years.
LRD director Jamir said this was the first award for Nagaland Coffee at international level. He said the department intends to cover 30,000 hectares of coffee plantation by 2030.
Jamir informed that the department has identified suitable areas in Nagaland about 10,40,100 hectares. He disclosed that presently the coffee plantation coverage was 9832 Ha and present production was 56 MT.
Jamir said there were 32 farmers having more than 10 Ha of coffee plantations in the state with 15 farmers from Dimapur, 14 from Kohima and three from Zunheboto.
Further, LRD director said that the department intends to expand the area to achieve the target and conduct postharvest processing and management.
LRD additional director Albert Ngullie acknowledged the chief minister Neiphiu Rio and LRD minister P Paiwang Konyak for their constant support in promoting Nagaland Coffee.
LRD joint director Vanchamo Ngullie said that proper assessment of the coffee production could be done after eight years.
So far, he said the state has produced 56 MT, but could export 27 MT while another 30 MT was expected to be harvested this year. He said that farmers earn about Rs. 2.5-3 lakh annually per hectare.
Other officers of the department were also present at the press conference.