a day ago
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.
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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."
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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.
