Stories
NEC Secretary Urges Better Infrastructure, Value Addition for Nagaland Coffee Viability
- •North Eastern Council (NEC) Secretary Satinder Kumar Bhalla emphasized the need for improved infrastructure, value addition, and market linkages to make coffee cultivation in Nagaland commercially viable.
- •Bhalla's remarks came during a visit to Touphema village, where he reviewed coffee cultivation and related infrastructure under the Coffee Utilisation of Surplus Potential (USP) Project.
- •He stressed that coffee development requires road connectivity, modern processing machinery, post-harvest infrastructure, quality assurance, and strong market and export linkages.
- •The Coffee USP Project should be an integrated livelihood and economic development program, not just a plantation initiative, to maximize value from natural and human resources.
- •Development Commissioner Y Kikheto Sema noted that Nagaland's coffee initiatives, dating back to 1981, haven't reached full potential due to limited awareness and inadequate market linkages.
Key Questions Answered
NEC Secretary Satinder Kumar Bhalla stressed the necessity of better infrastructure, road connectivity, modern processing machinery, post-harvest facilities, value addition, and export linkages. He also recommended crop diversification, water harvesting, and engaging industrial houses to support mechanisation.
Coffee cultivation initiatives in Nagaland date back to 1981. According to Development Commissioner Y Kikheto Sema, these efforts failed to achieve their full economic potential due to limited awareness, inadequate market linkages, and other constraints.
Touphema Village Council chairman Pfuduolhou Kense highlighted the high labor costs for weeding and harvesting, requesting support for brush cutters and harvesting equipment. He also asked for water-harvesting structures, storage tanks, and irrigation facilities to combat water shortages.
