Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal speaking after inaugurating the coffee growers’ conference, organised by Coffee Growers Federation, at Sakelespur recently said that the Union government will take necessary measures to transform Karnataka’s coffee into another form of gold, after the gold that used to be produced in KGF (Kolar Gold Fields) of the state.
Goyal said that the comprehensive coffee development plan, halted in 2011, has been reimplemented. This will focus on improving quality of coffee and mechanisation. It will help provide necessary equipment through farmer producer companies. Profits will increase if value of coffee is enhanced, he added.
He also said that it has been decided to give facilities for startups, in coffee development. “A coffee skill development centre is planned to be established in Balehonnur. The Centre is committed to providing funds for this,” he added. An additional grant of Rs 100 crore is required to provide subsidies to coffee growers. Talks will be held with the finance minister in this regard. Subsidies will be provided for the 21,000 applications submitted, Goyal informed.
Speaking further Piyush Goyal informed regarding human-animal conflict in the state and said that a committee will be constituted, led by IISc Bangalore professor Surendra Varma, and a report will be obtained and necessary action will be taken accordingly, he said.
Goyal said that a discussion will be held with union minister for environment on the elephant corridor. The MPs and MLAs, HD Kumaraswamy and himself will hold talks. Under PM Gati Shakti scheme, a satellite survey will be conducted. Old satellite pictures will be compared with current ones. The situation will be analysed and suitable action taken, he said.
Speaking on the occasion Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy (HDK) said, “After 40 – years, Piyush Goyal is the first union minister to visit Sakleshpur and informed that he has already devised a plan to protect the interests of coffee growers in the upcoming budget.”
HDK further said that Goyal has spoken about holding a meeting with Lok Sabha members in connection with the Kasturirangan report.
There is 15,000 acres of land for Elephant Corridor and the farmers are ready to spare an additional 3,500 acres of land. Hence, there is a need to develop an Elephant Corridor on the lines of Sri Lanka, he opined.
