Koshi province is seeing an increase in coffee cultivation
According to Ananta Dhungana, public information officer at the National Tea and Coffee Development Board, commercial coffee planting has started in 12 districts in Koshi province. The districts that cultivate coffee commercially, according to him, include Ilam, Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Khotang, Sankhuwasabha, Okhaldhunga, Solukhumbu, Tehrathum, Udayapur, Morang, Panchthar, and Taplejung. More than 5,000 farmers plant coffee, he said. Koshi now produces between 90 and 100 metric tons of coffee beans. On the market, it is valued at around Rs 200 million. More than half of the coffee produced is exported. The Koshi region produces 20% of Nepal’s 500 metric tons of coffee. Koshi province produces the most coffee in Ilam.
More than 2000 farmers in Ilam have planted coffee on 900 hectares of land. Grants of Rs 350,000 are being given to those growing seedlings in nurseries, while Rs 750,000 is being given to farmers and cooperatives for 50 ropanis of land for coffee cultivation by the National Tea and Coffee Development Board. In the previous fiscal year, the Koshi province board spent Rs 23.7 million to expand coffee cultivation to 110 hectares across 24 local governments. The board has set aside Rs 28.35 million for the same development this year. According to the board, Koshi Province is a good place to grow coffee, but farmers are unable to directly export their product to other countries because they are unaware of problems with processing, quality, packaging, and trade marking.
