Indian coffee producer Tata Coffee has agreed to buy coffee beans grown by tribal communities in Odisha’s Koraput province, and market them nationally and internationally. This will not only increase the socioeconomic standards of the farmers but will also ensure their long-term livelihoods. Additionally, the government has prepared a plan to expand coffee farming in the district.
Koraput, a tribal-dominated region, began cultivating coffee about 90 years ago. As part of its efforts to support tribal farmers with coffee, Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation of Odisha Limited (TDCCOL) procured 28,790kg of coffee cherries from 193 tribal farmers in the fiscal years of 2020-21. The TDCCOL started selling Korapu coffee in their Adisha retail outlets in 2019.
With this new purchase deal with Tata Coffee, tribal coffee growers will hopefully be encouraged to cultivate coffee further. There is an inherent quality to the coffee produced in this region that Tata Coffee vowed to preserve before marketing it globally. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik stated:
“The cooperation of Tata Coffee in State government’s efforts to uplift the socio-economic standard of coffee farmers will prove beneficial in their welfare. It carries importance in the protection of livelihood of tribals at a critical juncture like the COVID pandemic.”
In the plan prepared by the government, 46,500 acres will be planted in shade, including 22,570 acres dedicated to coffee plantations in Koraput. An estimated 25,000 families of tribals will receive documentation of their rights to their coffee plants, which will improve their livelihoods.
Arrangements like this, in which organizations join forces to support indigenous people, benefit all parties involved, showing how coffee can be a force for genuine socio-economic change.
