The Coffee Board is setting up a plant on B.R. Hills in Chamarajanagar district for processing the coffee cultivated by Soligas in the region.
Black pepper which is grown on the hills will also be processed at the same site. A one-acre plot is expected to be allotted to the Board.
Deputy Commissioner M.R. Ravi on Thursday told the officials to identify land for allotment to the Coffee Board. The Soliga tribal families are becoming planters, cultivating coffee in the hills. Besides becoming the land owners, they are turning into growers.
The DC said a five-acre plot is also being allotted in Chamarajanagar for setting up a food park from the Soligas Trifed.
Stalls selling coffee and pepper grown by Soligas will come up at tourist destinations in the district including Bandipur and M.M. Hills, and the officials had been asked to make marketing arrangements for the brand.
In 2020-21, Soligas had produced 70 tonnes of coffee, earning about ₹1.5 crore. This year, all help should be extended to them so that the yield goes up, Mr. Ravi said.
