In India, the Green Coffee Farmer Gets the Worm

India is giving its coffee farmers subsidies for green technology used in coffee farming. The request for subsidies is being considered for farmers who use eco pulpers and worm compost beds so that they will have the necessary help pay for the technology. Everyone wins, as not only is this good for conserving resources, but the coffee is less chemically impacted.

According to a recent Hindu Businessline report, the eco pulpers are a big improvement, as they use minimal water, and even that is recycled into compost or biogas production. Because their high price is above the financial ability of the coffee farmers, the eco pulper price will hopefully be discounted from 40 to 50 percent. Vermiculture saves resources in more ways than one. It basically means “worm culture”, or composting with the aid of earthworms to break down the compost. Such a procedure increases the soil’s organic content, thus saving the coffee farmer the expense of chemical fertilizer, while helping to preserve the health of the soil. The process requires the purchase of worm beds. If approved, the farmer will save money and also produce what many consider a better quality coffee, which therefore brings in a higher price and increased profit.

The eco pulpers and worms are a huge improvement in helping coffee production to reach more sustainable levels. Saving scarce water supplies is always valuable, not only in India. India is being progressive in subsidizing the purchase of such technologies to make coffee production less wasteful. Using worms to improve soil quality is a time-tested process which really does increase the production of healthy plants, naturally. Let’s hear it for the lowly worm, one of the lesser known workers in coffee production. After eating through our garbage and reducing it to history, the earthworm digests it all and leaves behind him a more usable and accessible path of nutrients. As he travels through the compost he also allows for its increased oxygen composition. Such compost provides a healthy soil environment for coffee and other plants.