Kodagu’s coffee growers reel under triple whammy

Successive natural calamities, low yield, increasing cost of production and prolonged lockdown over COVID-19 pandemic has badly hit the plantation industry

Owing to climate change and natural calamities, the yield of coffee has come down to uneconomical levels in Kodagu district.

It’s a triple whammy for coffee growers in Kodagu: COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing rain havoc, and the grievous impact of 2018 and 2019 floods and landslides.

Even before the industry could recover from the unprecedented losses triggered by two back-to-back calamities, the prolonged lockdown crippled the industry. Kodagu is facing rain havoc for the third successive year with many plantations suffering damage over inundation. The extent of this year’s damage could not be assessed with incessant rains lashing the region.

All Growers’ Association of Kodagu said the COVID-19 lockdown had disrupted the plantation activities along with trading and export operations. It has also affected the marketing of the harvested coffee and pepper since the buyers were reluctant to take the stocks due to depressed trading activities and financial crunch.

The coffee growers faced a financial crisis due to continuous disasters caused by severe drought from 2015 to 2017 followed by heavy rainfall, flood and massive landslides in 2018 and 2019. Thousands of hectares of pristine coffee and pepper plantations, with dwelling houses and infrastructure, were lost due to landslides.

“We had represented to both Central and State governments several times seeking relief but our request has not been considered so far. Even the Prime Minister’s ₹20 lakh-crore lockdown package has no specific relief granted to this sector,” said Growers’ Association Convener M.C. Kariappa and Coordinator A. Nanda Belliappa.

Mr. Kariappa told The Hindu thatthere appears to be no end to the miseries with Kodagu witnessing floods and landslides for the third successive year. “It’s now an uncertain future and hope is fading.”

Due to climate change and natural calamities the yield of coffee and pepper has come down to uneconomical levels, whereas the cost of production is steadily increasing. In fact, the COP has increased multi-fold over the last 5 years whereas the prices for coffee and pepper are at their lowest, probably due to cheap imports.

In a recent memorandum to Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha, the growers said pepper from Vietnam and other countries is continuing to enter India through unknown routes although the Union government has imposed a minimum import price of ₹500 per kg of pepper. The combined impact of natural calamities, low yield of coffee and pepper, increasing cost of production and the COVID-19 lockdown has made this evergreen rural plantation industry unviable and the life of large populations dependent on it miserable, they said.

The growers have sought waiver of crop loans as on March 31 for small growers (up to 10 hectares of holding) and waiver of interest on all crop loans as on March 31 for others (above 10 hectares of holding).

Coffee growers have loans amounting to ₹10,000 crore from commercial and co-operative banks. The total interest on the amount is about ₹1,200 crore. “The interest waiver request is the need of the hour, failing which growers are staring at a situation of Non-Performing Assets (NPA). Owing to this problem, we will be unable to get fresh loans and this will most likely lead to the collapse of the coffee industry,” they argued.

The growers have sought restructuring of all loans after granting the interest waiver. The loans borrowed by the growers need to be restructured for a period of 10 years with 3-year moratorium at 3 per cent interest, the association sought in its appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the MP.