DHARMAPURI: Coffee cultivators in Vathalamalai urged the district administration to take steps to set up a procurement centre from the Coffee Board of India to ensure fair pricing. Farmers said that middlemen procure coffee from the hamlet and sell it for higher prices at Yercaud, putting them at a loss.
In Vathalamalai, coffee is cultivated in an area of about 225 acres, producing 500 to 600 kg of coffee per acre. Usually, the hamlet produces the Robusta variety of coffee, which has higher caffeine content. Coffee is mostly traded at the market in Yercaud. However, for tribal farmers, this would mean a 130 km journey to Yercaud from Vathalmalai, which is difficult, and they often sell their produce to middlemen. While the coffee is sold for Rs 350 per kg in the market, the middlemen procure the beans from farmers at just Rs 250 per kg. Therefore, the farmers lose out on profits, and they want the administration to set up a procurement centre in Vathalamalai.
Speaking to TNIE, R Kaliappan from Palsilambu said, "Every year, we produce about 100 to 120 tonnes of coffee in Vathalamalai, but a major portion of it is sold to middlemen. Our hamlet is not accessible, and it is expensive to bring trucks here to transport coffee. Therefore, we often opt for traders who come and collect it from our village. Transporting hundreds of kilogrammes of coffee is difficult for a single farmer. We are aware that we are losing money, but there is little we can do."
Another farmer, B Sivakumar from Ondriyankadu, said, "To improve the situation of farmers in our hamlet, we need a procurement centre here. This would help the coffee fetch higher prices and also lead to an improvement in cultivation. Coffee is only harvested once a year, and at least during harvest, we need assistance to boost our production. We hope the administration will take steps before November, when harvest season begins."
When TNIE reached out to officials in the horticulture department, they said, "The production in Vathalmalai is very low. If we want a procurement centre to be set up here, it would require more production. As of now, this is not possible. However, we can take steps to improve marketing or offer assistance in transportation to farmers."