helpless ( Left ) A planter contemplates nature ’ s carnage where once existed a fecund patch ; ( top ) the scene at a typical Coorg coffee estate getty images late August , came a series of punishing cascades of sodden earth . Now , there ’ s a trail of ruin in these charming hills , where landslides have swept off whole villages , re-arranged estates and shattered its economy . With immediate rescue measures tapering off , one question hangs limply in the air : where do you start picking up the pieces ? “ I can ’ t plant anything now on my land , that ’ s for sure ,” says K . U . Erappa , standing in his camouflage gumboots in a relief camp inside Madikeri ’ s old fort where , grouped with several families , he has been staying for days now . “ All that ’ s left of my coffee plants are just stalks ,” Erappa says . His ageing mother walks up to say , “ We had a small house , but it was pretty .” Their grief is palpable . Erappa owned a few acres of coffee and paddy in Mukkodlu , one of the hardest-hit places in north Coorg , in the vicinity of district capital Madikeri . Much of Coorg is remote , away from the main-travelled roads . Like others , Era ppa has been going back to salvage what he could . His three children , like most kids from his village , have been sent away to a temporary residential facility in a school in Ponnampet town at the southern end of the district . “ We never dreamt Coorg would come to this ,” says N . Bose Mandanna , a planter from Suntikoppa .
Right now , a full picture of the damage isn ’ t available , though it is being estimated . Planters like Mandanna reckon that at least 5,000-7,000 acres have been wiped off in the landslides . For the plants still standing , there ’ s the danger of wet feet and black rot — water- logging at the base of the plant that strangulates it , cau sing leaves to fall off . “ When leaves are lost , next year ’ s crop is also lost ,” says Mandanna . Coorg , with about one lakh hectares in cultivation , accounts for close to 40 per cent of
Landslides have swept off villages and shattered the economy . About 5,000 to 7,000 acres have been wiped off .
India ’ s coffee production . The 2017-18 post-blossom estimate was 1,33,500 metric tonnes , most of which is exported , Italy being a top destination . To make matters worse , prices , say market watchers , have been at historic lows . Brazil is harvesting a good crop this year and so will Columbia and Vietnam . “ International prices have gone ( down ) to levels last seen in 2006 . We are getting a lot less now , if you factor in the inflation ,” says Ramesh Rajah , president of the Coffee Exporters Asso ci ation . Prices depend on the big three producers — Brazil , Columbia and Vietnam — which account for over 70 per cent of the global production . “ Only if there are supply shocks in the big three will there be impact in international prices . India can lose one third or even half its production and the international market
17 September 2018 Outlook 23