RAIPUR: After roads, schools and health camps, Chhattisgarh is now looking at coffee cultivation as the next step in transforming Abujhmarh, the remote Bastar region long associated with left wing extremism.The Narayanpur district administration, in collaboration with the coffee board of India, has begun assessing whether coffee can be cultivated in selected forest villages to create sustainable livelihoods for tribal communities.A team led by Narayanpur collector Namrata Jain and coffee board experts recently surveyed villages including Kutul, Kachchapal, Kodliyar, Irakbhatti and Toke, studying rainfall, soil, elevation and climatic conditions.Officials said the preliminary assessment found the region suitable for a coffee-based agroforestry model. The next phase will involve identifying suitable sites, establishing nurseries and training agriculture officials before plantations are taken up.If the project takes off, commercial production is expected after about four years. Officials say it could generate employment not only through plantations but also in nurseries, maintenance, harvesting and processing, with self-help groups expected to play a key role.District agriculture officials will undergo specialised training at the coffee board’s regional centre in Koraput, Odisha, before the project is rolled out.The initiative draws on research by Indira Gandhi agriculture university, which has identified parts of Bastar as suitable for organic coffee because of its forest canopy, fertile soil, elevation and rainfall. Coffee grown under shade trees also helps conserve soil, reduce erosion and support biodiversity.
