R.B. KC*1,B.K. Shrestha2 and B. Paudel3
1Nepal agricultural Research Council,
2HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation,
3Coffee Development Center
*Corresponding email:rbkc05@gmail.com
Abstract
Coffee and tea are the major export potential commodities of Nepal.Coffee is produced in more than 70 countries in the world.In Nepal,coffee is grown in about 2,681 hectare area by 32,629 small holder farmers and produced 513 metric tons of green bean.Whereas,tea is produced in 62 countries but commercial grown in 35 countries.Nepal ranked 21st producer and produced 24409.3 ton from 28241 ha area in2016/17.In coffee,small holder farmers are practicing organic and fair trade principles through cooperatives and traders have established market linkages at national and international level for specialty coffee.Nepal has enormous potential to produce specialty coffee.A study done in 2018 on “Habitat Suitability of Coffee(Coffea Arabica) in Nepal” indicated 11,98,535 ha of area is potential for coffee plantation.Of which, 734,661 ha is moderately suitable, and 61,228 ha is highly suitable.Coffee and tea subsector is facing biotic and abiotic challenges in production and marketing.White stem borer,leaf rust,lack of high yielding cultivars, and identification of suitable shade species are the major biotic challenges on coffee production. Similarly stem canker,blister blight and thrips are the major problems in tea. Varietal evaluation and capacity building of the producers are the major areas to put effort to address the biotic/abiotic stresses.Similarly lack of qualified human resources working in coffee and tea research and development are the challenges to boost up this sector.Organized groups or cooperatives approach for production and marketing with organic and fair trade practices need to be encouraged to address the increasing demand of specialty coffee and tea which will help to minimize the trade deficit of the nation.
Keywords: coffee,marketing,potential,production,tea