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Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
NITI Aayog includes Koraput Coffee under ‘vocal for local' campaign
Koraput: Recognising indigenous enterprise and sustainable farming, Koraput Coffee has been featured by under its 'Aakanksha' initiative, which aims to promote rural livelihoods, ecological harmony and the 'Vocal for Local' campaign. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Lauding Koraput Coffee, NITI Aayog wrote on its X handle, "From the mist elevations of Koraput, Odisha, nestled at 3,000 feet in the Eastern Ghats, emerges a brew that is rich in flavour as it is in heritage — Koraput Coffee." "Koraput Coffee — A flavour born of the highlands, rooted in tradition and grown with pride," it added. The post praised Koraput Coffee for its premium Arabica beans, directly procured from tribal farmers by the Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation of Odisha Ltd (TDCCOL), ensuring fair prices and dignity for the growers. Tracing its origins, NITI Aayog highlighted that coffee cultivation in Koraput dates back to the 1930s during the reign of the Jeypore king. The practice was further institutionalised through govt support in 1958 and large-scale land allotments to tribal families between 1989 and 2016. By 2015-16, the coffee-growing area had expanded to over 1,400 hectares. The Coffee Development Trust, set up in 2017 along with the Coffee Board, has been instrumental in promoting ecological sustainability and tribal empowerment through training programs, land access and market linkages. Women self-help groups (SHGs) play a critical role in nurturing coffee seedlings and contributing to both economic and social development in the region. Reacting to the recognition, Koraput collector Keerthi Vasan V said, "It's a proud moment for the district and everyone associated with Koraput Coffee. Under the Aakanksha programme of NITI Aayog, we had submitted the proposal, and we are happy that Koraput Coffee now finds a place in their list." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The administration has ambitious plans to scale up cultivation. For 2025-26, the district aims to undertake shade plantation on 4,000 hectares and coffee cultivation on 800 hectares. There is also a proposal to involve more local womens SHGs in coffee processing to boost production and make the product more widely available in retail outlets. At present, Koraput boasts 3,500 hectares under coffee cultivation, including 778 hectares of private plantations managed by nearly 4,300 tribal farmers. A govt study has identified 1.46 lakh hectares of land in the district as suitable for coffee farming, underscoring the massive untapped potential for Koraput Coffee in the domestic and global markets.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Extend Vande Bharat to Koraput via Araku: Jeypore MLA
1 2 Koraput: In a renewed push for improved rail connectivity in the tribal-dominated Koraput district, Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati has appealed to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to extend the Vande Bharat Express — currently running between Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam — to Koraput via two separate memoranda recently submitted to Majhi and Vaishnaw, the senior Congress legislator proposed extending the train's route by an additional 215 km to reach Koraput. The route, passing through the scenic Araku Valley, would span a total of 669 km, well within the operational threshold of Vande Bharat trains, which typically cover up to 800 the Vande Bharat covers 444 km between Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam in about five hours. With the proposed extension, the full journey could be completed in around nine hours, Bahinipati the lack of high-speed connectivity in Koraput region, Bahinipati emphasised that only one train, the Hirakhand Express, currently connects Koraput with Bhubaneswar. "This extension would not only reduce the heavy passenger load on the Hirakhand Express but also boost the socio-economic development of backward blocks such as Nandapur and Lamtaput, and bordering districts like Nabarangpur and Malkangiri," said Bahinipati. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Mother's Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
