Vagaries of nature, lack of political will haunt coffee growers in Karnataka

There is palpable anger against elected representatives, cutting across party lines, in the coffee heartland of Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu as the growers charge that their MLAs have let them down.

The coffee industry, which according to experts is a billion-dollar foreign exchange industry, employs more than 15 lakh labourers. More than 2.05 lakh coffee growers in Karnataka produce nearly 3.60 lakh tonnes of coffee seeds every year of which 70% is exported. Despite this, coffee growers in these districts say that successive governments have failed to address their issue.

The major issues that are affecting the growers are fluctuating global prices, climate change (excess rainfall even during post-monsoon season and drought-like-situation during summer), human-animal conflict, increasing investment cost for cultivation, and denial of crop-loss insurance among others.

The coffee-growing region of these three districts sends 10 MLAs to the state assembly and three members to Lok Sabha.

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“Since 2018, the coffee growers of 10 taluks in these districts are in distress due to excess rain, shortage of labourers and price fluctuation. Yet none of the elected representatives raised their voices either in assembly or in parliament,” said B S Jayaram, Karnataka Coffee Growers’ Federation (KCGF) President, which has 24 associations of coffee growers in these districts.

Nearly 98% of the 2.05 lakh coffee growers are small-scale farmers with less than 10 ha of cultivable land. “Unlike other farmers, coffee growers are not eligible for insurance cover for crop loss. Under the NDRF we are eligible to get only Rs 56,000 compensation despite our investment per acre being at least 10 times more than other crops,” Jayaram said and added that repeated requests since 2008 have met with no response from both central and State governments, irrespective of the party in power.

Tirthamallesh, a coffee grower in Sakleshpur, Hassan district, says due to crop loss over the last three years his bank loan turned to non-performing asset. “I could not pay loan or interest for three years and as a result, the banks e-auctioned my coffee estate without my notice. I didn’t even get a chance to repay my loan,” he said.

Jayaram said more than 10,000 such coffee growers have received an eviction notice. At least 85 of them lost their entire coffee estate due to landslides in 39 villages of Madikeri and Somwarpet in 2018 and 2019.

Human-animal conflict

The other major problem the growers are facing in this region is the wild animals menace, which are not only destroying the crop but also killing humans.

According to reports from the forest department in the last decade, the three districts have lost more than 86 people in elephant and tiger attacks. Hassan District Planters Association President K N Subramanya said the majority of victims of animal attacks were labourers. “Due to animal attacks, we are not able to get labourers. The State government which had assured of translocating elephants have failed to do so,” he said and added that there are more than 300 elephants living in the coffee estates of these three districts.

Karnataka Growers’ Federation President Vishwanath Keshavamurthy said coffee growers are ‘nobody’s child’. “Both State and Central government has failed to address our issues. With a little bit of help, we could compete at the global level. However, due to lack of understanding of the subject at the State and central level has let us down,” he said.

Madikeri MLA M P Appachu Ranjan, who has represented the seat for the last 15 years, said coffee growers’ are lying about the BJP government. “Our government has addressed the majority of the growers issue. We have increased interest free loan to the growers, brought them under insurance cover and fighting to provide free power supply to 10 hp pumpset. Our government has also allocated Rs 100 crore for creating railway barricades around the forest areas to prevent wild animals attack,” he said.

With inputs from Naina J A