Coffee and rubber __ two unlikely crops for the indigenous people __ are being increasingly propagated in the tribal heartlands of Odisha. The State Government, which has been trying its hands at these two crops for last several decades, is so gung-ho about their potential that it has planned to scale up plantation over a whopping 85,000 acre in the next 10 years.
While coffee plantation is being upscaled in Koraput and Rayagada districts, rubber cultivation is being intensified in Mayurbhanj and Gajapati. The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Department is using the Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs) to converge resources from different programmes to support the plantation programmes which are seen as a strong livelihood option for tribals.
In Odisha, rubber plantation had started in 1985 whereas coffee plantation began way back in 1930. However, coffee has remained confined to southern Odisha pockets.
During 2012-13, the SC and ST Development Department, with support from Coffee Board, carried out plantation in over 762 acre involving 520 farmers. This time around, a 10-year plan has been put in place under which 40,000 acre will be covered by 2022.
At least 40,000 tribal families will be involved in coffee plantation during the period. “We have estimated the total fund requirement for achieving the 10-year target at `271.89 crore,” sources in the department said.
The SC and ST Development Department has put in place a converge plan to source the funds. At least `47.69 crore is proposed to be sourced from Special Component Plan (SCA) to Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) while another `224 crore will be from MGNREGS. During the current year, coffee and shade tree plantation is being undertaken in 7,245 acre with an expenditure of `13.64 crore. Coffee plantations can give tribal families incremental income up to `30,000 to `45,000 per acre, but it can only come after three years of plantation. During the first three years, the tribal families can earn from inter-cropping in the fields. The case with rubber plantation is a bit different since the gestation period is about eight to nine years. In this period, the tribal families will have to sustain a host of horticulture crops. The rubber plantation plan aims at covering 45,000 acre in five ITDAs of Mayurbhanj and Gajapati benefiting 45,000 tribal farmers with an estimated `514.3 crore.
Convergence model is being adopted here too. The department proposed to source `241 crore from SCA to TSP and `255 crore from NREGS while the rest will come from Rubber Board. The income generated from rubber farming is higher __ about `72,000 to ` 90,000 per acre per annum.“The land will belong to the tribal families, hence ownership will be theirs. If the action plan fructifies, it will change the economic status of the tribal farmers,” the sources claimed.