Raj Kumar Parajuli

Kavre, April 17:

Paanchkhal, which once was famous for its tomato cultivation, has now become a fertile land for coffee plantation. The farmers, who were once unaware about coffee plantation, have acres and acres of land under coffee plantation now. The coffee produced in the district is exported to America and Japan and the demand is forever increasing. However, farmers have been unable to meet the rising demand. Kedar Dhungana of Paanchkhal-8, Tinpiple, said that he earned Rs 19,000 from the sale of Pulpar coffee. He has planted coffee in five ropanis of land.

He said that if all the plants start to produce beans, his income would soar to more than Rs 50,000 annually. Dhungana started coffee plantation after getting coffee training from Coffee Entrepreneurs Association of Gulmi in 2056 BS. Similarly, Dhan Bahadur Shrestha of Paanchkhal-9 is also into commercial coffee farming. He said that he feels proud when he gets appreciated for the good quality of the coffee he produces. He added that coffee farming is the sole and the easiest way to earn foreign currency.

Earlier, farmers were hindered by the lack of knowledge and experience as well as market but now, the situation has changed. Since the coffee produced in the district is organic in nature, its demand in the international market is very high, farmers said. According to the Coffee Entrepreneurs Association (CEA) of Kavre, production of 15 tonnes of coffee has been estimated in the district this year, out of which seven tonnes of Pulpar coffee is exported to America and Japan. The remaining is consumed nationally.

Hom Raj Giri, chairman of CEA, said that orders for twenty tonnes of coffee has been received from America and Japan, which they have been unable to meet. He said, "We have been able to export only seven tonnes so far." He added that Pulpar, Dry Cherry, and Fresh Cherry species of coffee are being produced in the district. The demand for the first kind is quite high, he added. "We have gained international recognition within a short time and this is the result of our hard work," said Giri. Earlier the price of Pulpar coffee was Rs 100 per kilogram, which has increased to Rs 140 now. With this increase, farmers have been attracted towards coffee farming. Dry Cherry costs Rs 60 and Fresh Cherry costs Rs 25 per kilograms.

The price of coffee is decided by the CEA and Everest Coffee Mill at Paanchkhal who buy coffee being produced in the district. Chairman Giri said farmers of Ramechhap, Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk have also shown interest in coffee plantation recently. Shiva Prasad Dhakal, vice-chairman of CEA, said that the high demand for coffee in the international market has made people come to buy coffee from individual households. But since the price of Dry Cherry and Fresh Cherry is very low as compared to Pulpar coffee, farmers have demanded an increase in the price of these too. Dhakal added that currently there are 0.283 million coffee plants in around 50 hectares of land in Kavre and that the CEA has plans to double it in the next few years. Technicians say that the climatic condition in most VDCs of the district is suitable for coffee plantation. They said that much could be done from little investment here and a mature coffee plant could produce around 20.5 kilograms of coffee.