Union Minister Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia launches Mission “Coffees of Nagaland”

Nagaland’s Coffee Poised for Global Rise Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Viksit North East Vision

This is not merely a Whole of Government approach, but truly a Whole of India approach: Scindia

Union Minister Scindia highlights Nagaland’s potential to emerge as India’s premium specialty coffee destination

The Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region and Communications, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, today launched the Cluster-based Coffee Value Chain Development Mission for Nagaland. The launch was graced in the august presence of Shri Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State, MDoNER; Shri Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister, Government of Nagaland; Shri T. R. Zeliang, Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Nagaland; Shri G. Ikuto Zhimomi, MLA and Advisor (Land Resources), Government of Nagaland; Shri Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, MDoNER .

With an outlay of Rs. 175 crores, the Mission “ Coffees of Nagaland”  has been designed through a whole-of-government approach and planned keeping in view the perspectives of all stakeholders, ensuring that interventions reflect ground realities and the aspirations of farming communities.

The mission adopts a cluster-based approach with two pilot coffee clusters identified at Tuophema village in Kohima district for Arabica coffee and Ghotovi village in Niuland district for Robusta coffee. The initiative seeks to address critical gaps across the coffee value chain by integrating plantation development, post-harvest processing, branding, marketing, traceability, export, tourism and capacity building.

The Union Minister, MDoNER, underscored Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s commitment to ensuring that farmers become true stakeholders in the entire agricultural value chain. Emphasising the collaborative nature of the initiative, the Minister said:

“This is not merely a Whole of Government approach, but truly a Whole of India approach, bringing together governments, ministries, farmers, entrepreneurs, processors, branding experts, exporters and market leaders onto one common platform.”

The Minister noted that the “Coffees of Nagaland” Mission has been designed as a full-value-chain development initiative aimed at transforming Nagaland from a raw coffee-producing region into a premium, traceable, single-origin coffee economy with strong domestic and international market presence.

He further highlighted that the initiative envisions Brand North East “Coffees of Nagaland”, supported through media campaigns, participation in trade fairs, and experiential coffee tourism initiatives. The mission also seeks to promote coffee farm-stays and farm-to-cup tourism experiences in the pilot clusters, with the objective of positioning Nagaland as a niche destination for specialty coffee tourism. The Minister noted that the true success of the initiative would be reflected when “Coffees of Nagaland” secure premium shelf space in both domestic and international markets, while ensuring higher and more sustainable incomes for coffee-growing communities across the state. He assured farmers and stakeholders that the Government remains fully committed to developing a globally competitive specialty coffee ecosystem for Nagaland.

Hon’ble MoS Shri Sukanta Majumdar emphasised that by integrating organic certification, GI tagging, and digital traceability, the programme will significantly boost farmer incomes and empower smallholder households. This strategic roadmap not only secures direct access to premium international markets but also links the sector to local experiential tourism, ensuring long-term sustainable growth for the region.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Nagaland appreciated MDoNER for conceptualising and supporting the Coffee Value Chain Development Project, describing it as a milestone in the state’s agricultural diversification and rural development strategy. He stated that coffee cultivation has emerged as an important alternative to shifting cultivation in many districts and has strong potential to promote environmentally sustainable farming systems while generating long-term income opportunities for farming communities.

Shri Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, MDoNER, in his introductory remarks, elaborated on the implementation framework of the mission and highlighted the immense potential of Nagaland’s agro-climatic conditions for producing premium-quality Arabica and Robusta coffee. He noted that while coffee cultivation has expanded significantly across Nagaland over the past decade, interventions are now required to improve quality, productivity, value addition and market access. He further emphasised that the cluster-based model would enable small farmers to collectively benefit from shared infrastructure, technical support and branding initiatives.

The initiative is expected to create sustainable livelihoods, improve value capture at the farm gate and encourage rural youth participation in the coffee economy. The launch event was attended by officials of MDoNER and Government of Nagaland along with farmers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders.