Chhattisgarh: The Baghel Govt has taken yet another step to uplift its agricultural prospects. The state administration on Sunday heralded to establish a committee to promote the cultivation of tea and coffee in the state. On the initiative of CM Baghel the ‘Chhattisgarh Tea Coffee Board’ will be formed under the Chairmanship of State’s Agriculture Minister, an official said. The statement released by CMO read -“ The constitution of the board is aimed at encouraging the cultivation of tea and coffee in the state and to provide more benefits to local farmers and those involved in the processing activities”
A close source has asserted that the state would achieve the target of cultivating tea and coffee on an area of 10,000 acres in the coming three years and the cultivators would be given remuneration under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY) and other schemes of the Agriculture Department. The Jashpur district has emerged as an ideal location for the cultivation and processing of tea while the Southern region of the state in the Bastar district has proven to facilitate the cultivation of coffee. The Horticulture and Industry departments play a paramount role in the official informed. Technical guidance from reputed national institutions is being sought along with support from private sector experts, investors and consultants. The project is determined to fetch a profit of Rs 2 lakh per acre after five years of plantation.
According to the statement, the State’s Industry Minister is authorized as the Vice Chairman of the committee while Additional Chief Secretary of the CM Secretariat, Commissioner, Agriculture Production; MD, Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) and one officer each from Agriculture/ Horticulture and Forest Departments will be its members
The climate of the plateau region where Jashpur is located forms to be favourable for the cultivation of tea and stands as the only district in the Central region of India that supports tea plantation.