Kalimpong district, long famed for its tea, is now brewing another surprise — coffee.
The rise of coffee cultivation in Kalimpong has prompted the state government to initiative steps to train cultivators in well-known institutions and strengthen markets for the produce.
Pradip Majumder, the state panchayat and rural development minister, said coffee cultivation in Kalimpong was progressing well.
“To support sustainable production, we are working to enhance market linkages and create demand for Kalimpong’s coffee. We’ve also asked the departments concerned to prepare a list of farmers who can benefit from advanced training conducted by experts from institutions like the Indian Institute of Management (IIM),” Majumder said after attending a departmental review meeting for Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad area on Saturday.
The movement for coffee farming gathered steam in the hills since 2018, although a few select farmers had been growing coffee much earlier.
The latest push in coffee plantation was provided by the the Directorate of Cinchona and Other Medicinal Plants which is under the state horticulture and food processing department.
The directorate started in the initiative from Kalimpong.
Samuel Rai, the director of the directorate, said that initially 1,100 farmers planted saplings over 345 acres of land in 2018. “Four years later, in 2022, we harvested 22 quintals of coffee cherries. After processing, we introduced it to the market under the brand name of Kalimpong Coffee,” said Rai.
Currently, about 1,250 farmers are involved in coffee cultivation in the hills. Three-fourths of them are based in Kalimpong. The rest are in Darjeeling district.
The region now produces around 70 quintals of coffee annually, attracting buyers from Sikkim, Calcutta and nearby areas.
“Our primary goal is to establish ‘Kalimpong Coffee’ as a distinct brand, much like the globally renowned Darjeeling Tea. We have submitted proposals to the department for further support to boost this effort,” Rai added.
The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has also recognised the potential of coffee farming in the hills. Roshan Dahal, the karmadhyaksha of the agriculture and irrigation department of Kalimpong-I panchayat samiti, said that in collaboration with the directorate, they were utilising vacant land for coffee cultivation.
“About six months ago, we distributed over 80,000 coffee seedlings to 178 farmers in Kalimpong-I. The response has been very promising,” Dahal said. “Our vision is to firmly establish the ‘Kalimpong Coffee’ brand and eventually set up a dedicated processing unit in the district,” he added.