Madikeri: Kodagu, Chikmaglur and Hassan districts have asserted their prominence in coffee cultivation, production, extent of holdings and number of holders, plantation areas and productivity, apart from a high degree of quality of the produce. Kodagu is well-known for coffee cultivation in India.
The post-blossom coffee production for 2008-09 in Kodagu was estimated at 1,14,370 tonnes, the highest in the country. This included 90,000 tonnes of Robusta and 24,370 tonnes of Arabica, followed by Chikmaglur with 71,750 tonnes, including 32,900 tonnes of Robusta and 38,850 tonnes of Arabica. The production projected for Hassan district was 28,050 tonnes, including 10,000 tonnes of Robusta and 18,050 tonnes of Arabica, according to information gathered from the Database on Coffee of the Coffee Board. Robusta is the dominant crop in Kodagu, while Arabica is popular in Chikmaglur and Hassan districts. Karnataka accounted for 2,14,170 tonnes of coffee production in the country of the estimated 2,93,000 tonnes (post-blossom estimate) for 2008-09. Karnataka accounted for 70.1 per cent of the country’s production, followed by Kerala with 21.8 per cent, Tamil Nadu 6.2 per cent, and non-traditional areas such as Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and certain parts of north-eastern regions 1.9 per cent.
The Deputy Director of the Coffee Board (Extension), Kodagu, Rangaswamy Reddy, told The Hindu that the bearing area in the country in 1950-51 was 92,523 hectares. It increased to 3,50,500 hectares in 2008-09. The production-level too increased tremendously from a mere 18,893 tonnes to 2,93,000 tonnes (as per the post-blossom estimate for 2008-09). In terms of productivity too, there had been an increase. During 1950-51, Arabica productivity stood at 229 kg/ hectare, while Robusta was 136 kg/hectare. During 2008-09, the corresponding figures are 508 and 942.