Coffee and pepper, being procured by the Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) from the tribal coffee farmers of Chintapalli division, has received the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) certificate from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of the Ministry and Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
A total of 1,900 tribal farmers of Gondupakalu, Lambasingi and Kappalu clusters under Chintapalli division are engaged in coffee cultivation in 2,184.76 acres. The documentation work for getting the NPOP certificate had started four years ago.
“Similarly, the documentation process for getting organic certification for the coffee beans procured from GK Veedhi, Pedavalasa and Yerracheruvulu clusters is on. There are 1,300 coffee farmers in these clusters, cultivating coffee in an extent of 3,393.78 acres. We hope to get the organic certificate for these clusters by January 2024,” says GCC Vice-Chairman and MD G. Suresh Kumar.
The tribal farmers can expect more returns for their produce due to organic certification as organic products command higher prices. The documentation process for organic certification is cumbersome as it includes third-party verification, online verification, geo-tagging and updating of information on APEDA TraceNet.
The GCC MD thanked the tribal coffee farmers and Girijana Vikasa Swatchanda Samstha (NGO) for their contribution in getting the organic certification for the GCC Araku Valley Coffee.
