Kohima, July 20 (NEPS): Unauthorized coffee nurseries in various places in Nagaland have drawn the attention of the Coffee Board of Nagaland. The issue of unauthorized coffee nurseries surfaced during a Land Resources Department’s marathon ‘Consultative meeting with the Coffee Board Officials’ held here at the Conference Hall of the Directorate of the Land Resources Department here today.
When officials of the Land Resources Department asked the Coffee Board officials whether they had encouraged such unauthorized coffee nurseries in the markets, they said they had never supplied any saplings to any persons.
Secretary of the Land Resources Department, Y Kikheto Sema, IAS, who was also present at the Consultative Meeting directed the officials of the Department and also district officials to create awareness among farmers not to buy any coffee nurseries from unauthorized sellers.
“We will provide coffee nurseries only to the nodal department, that is Land Resources Department,” said AP Anantha Kumar, Joint Director, Coffee Board, Government of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
Sema was also critical of the mindset of many officials of the Government of India or any Central agencies saying that many a times they neglected many areas of development under the pretext of law and order problem. “But I tell you Nagaland has been experiencing relative peace over the years,” he informed the Coffee Board officials attending the Consultative meeting. “Nagaland is the only State formed through a political agreement and there is no reason why the Coffee Board should not take advantage of the relative peace prevailing in the State.”
Nagaland started vigorous coffee cultivation during 1980. The survey conducted by the Board has estimated that an area of 4268 hectares is suitable for coffee cultivation. The Nagaland Plantation of Crops Development Corporation (NPCDC) was the pioneer agency to establish Coffee in Nagaland since 1981 and created an area of 2811 hectares. The coffee plantations in Nagaland were not going well after some years as many beneficiaries could not carry out their activities due to poor marketing network and lack of financial support.
In the Consultative Meeting, the Secretary expressed his happiness that the Government was coming forward to revive the coffee plantations in the State through the Land Resources Department and requested the officials of the Coffee Board to speed up providing all the necessary training programs to their officials so as to impart proper training to the farmers.
The Land Recourses Department also requested the Coffee Board to set up another Coffee Board Office at Kohima as the lone Coffee Board at Mokokchung is not enough to work for the coffee movement in the State.
The Coffee Board also agreed to have ‘Quarterly Consultative Meetings’ with the officials of the LRD.
