DHARMAPURI: Poor marketing avenues for coffee beans have proved to be a dampener for its farmers in the hill hamlet of Vathalmalai in Dharmapuri district. They said poor pricing and lack of a market hamper development of coffee cultivation. As a way out they demanded the district administration to set up a local cooperative industry or even coffee board procurement centres in the area.
Vathalmalai, which is located 3,000 feet above sea level, is the only area in Dharmapuri where farmers undertake coffee cultivation. A total area of 350 acres is dedicated to coffee production. But because of the lack of local marketing avenues, farmers transport their produce to Yercaud to the Coffee Board procurement centre to sell their produce.
"Because of the tedious nature of the trade, most coffee producers fall victim to poor pricing fixed by middle men. So to fetch better prices and improve marketing avenues we need a local cooperative or Coffee board of India procurement centre to further boost prices," farmers stated.
Speaking to TNIE, R Kaliappan of Palsilambu said, "Coffee trees usually flower by May and provide us with fruit by September and by October we would be able to have the beans ready for sales. Usually traders come to our village and procure the beans from us. The price is usually less than Rs 250 to Rs 270 per kilogram. The alternative is to take our produce to Yercaud and sell our produce to the Coffee Board there. We usually do not go there because of the transport expenses and the limited availability of transportation here."
Another coffee farmer, M Periyasamy, too echoed the same concern while pressing for a local cooperative or procurement centre.
"The price has been about the same for over 10 years now. We started cultivating coffee in our hamlet around 2011-12. It was introduced to use by the administration. But the crop fetches a poor price. Because of the limited marketing avenues we have to rely on middle men who fix the prices."
S Selvakumar, another farmer said, "A cooperative would be the most beneficial as it could create a local brand and promote the coffee and pepper produced here. But we need assistance as we are not very tech savvy or informed about such initiatives here. We urge the district administration to consider our demand and improve coffee production."
When TNIE spoke to officials in the district administration they promised to look into the matter. "While the cultivation area in Vathalmalai has expanded, there is still limited production. Nonetheless we would take necessary steps to aid coffee farmers," officials said.