Nagaland is looking to build coffee beyond a plantation crop and establish it as an origin-based specialty product, with the State Government focusing on value addition, branding, certification and access to national and international markets.
The State’s coffee sector came into focus during the observance of International Coffee Day 2026 at the Directorate of Land Resources in Kohima on Thursday, held under the theme “Coffee is Part of the Solution.”
Advisor for Land Resources G Ikuto Zhimomi said coffee has been identified as a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of Nagaland, with the recently launched Coffees of Nagaland Mission seeking to establish the State as a distinct origin-based specialty coffee brand.
The mission was launched in New Delhi on May 19, 2026, and has taken up cluster-based coffee value-chain development through two pilot projects – Tuophema in Kohima district for Arabica coffee and Ghotovi in Niuland district for Robusta coffee.
Zhimomi said the focus would extend beyond cultivation to the wider coffee ecosystem, including processing, employment, entrepreneurship and marketing. He said continued investment across the value chain could create sustainable rural livelihoods while giving Nagaland coffee greater visibility in national and international markets.
The Director of Land Resources and CEO, SLNA, Albert Ngullie, traced Nagaland’s coffee journey to 1981, when coffee was introduced as an alternative cash crop by the Coffee Board of India and the Nagaland Plantation Crops Development Corporation. Plantations were later handed over to local communities in 1991, while the Department of Land Resources began efforts to revive coffee cultivation from 2014–15.
Ngullie said the department’s priorities now include expanding cultivation, improving productivity and quality, strengthening skills across the value chain, completing branding and certification, and positioning coffee as a sustainable alternative livelihood.
The emphasis on developing a complete value chain was also highlighted by Dr Sentitula, IFS, Director (Tourism & Industries), North Eastern Council Secretariat, who said the NEC is supporting the State Government as a funding and guiding agency for the mission.
She said the proposed value chain would cover cultivation and quality planting material through processing, QR-based traceability, GI tagging, branding, marketing and export. Developing more of the value chain within Nagaland, she said, would help retain greater value for farmers.
Financing, however, remains an important consideration. Pauliankap Bulte, General Manager and Officer-in-Charge of NABARD’s Nagaland Regional Office, highlighted the need for farmers and entrepreneurs to access institutional finance for cultivation, processing, marketing and branding.
He also pointed to Nagaland’s distinctive land ownership system as a challenge in accessing institutional credit and called for appropriate policy measures to facilitate bank financing for the sector.
From the growers’ side, Khenyen Konyak, a coffee grower from Tobu in Mon district, spoke about the challenges faced during the early stages of his plantation, including poor road connectivity. He credited the Department of Land Resources with support through machinery, saplings and field visits and encouraged farmers to approach coffee cultivation with a long-term vision.
Searon Yanthan, Director Marketing of Lithanro Pvt. Ltd. and founder of Juro Coffeehouse, said the company had spent six to seven years developing a farm-to-cup coffee ecosystem, with its markets expanding to India, Canada and the United Kingdom. He encouraged young people to explore opportunities across the coffee value chain and urged growers to prioritise quality, consistency and proper post-harvest practices.
The event also saw the launch and screening of the documentary “Coffees of Nagaland” and the release of coffee publications, including the book Coffee Cultivation by Dr Mary N Odyuo and Khrielanuo Khezhie.
The International Coffee Day program was followed by the flagging off of a series of coffee-related activities in the State.