Kohima, May 5 (PTI) Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday announced plans to provide coffee making machines for opening up coffee shops to young entrepreneurs in every district and sub-division of the state.

Rio made this announcement during an official programme organized by the Land Resources Department to distribute Coffee pulpers to 50 Coffee growers of Kohima district at Solidarity Park here.

Encouraged by the increasing number of coffee growers in the state and also export of coffee to South Africa and Dubai, Rio said in order to improve the quality of coffee produced in Nagaland the people here should also know its variant tastes.

In order to encourage people to drink locally produced coffee, in every district and sub-division during the year "we will provide coffee making machine to trained people to open up coffee shops", he said.

Nagaland's land is suitable for coffee growing and during the 1980s Coffee Board of India (CBI) had come to the state in a big way and though farmers were interested but due to lack of proper training the project failed.

Saying that coffee is one of the highest growing markets in the world, Rio said coffee plantation has re- started in Nagaland with the Land Resources department as the nodal department and people are now engaged in massive cultivation.

Naga Coffee is in high demand because of its organic nature, quality and flavour, he said, adding that the state is yet to export finished products.

As Nagaland does not have any industry and factories for economic sustainability, the chief minister said coffee growers in the state can become pioneers towards uplifting the economy of the state.

He said that other government departments are also engaged in coffee plantation in almost every district of the state. The chief minister, however, felt the need to synchronize all departments and coffee growers in order to have better volume and also channelize marketing strategy for economic benefit.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)