North Eastern Council Director Dr. Sentitula conducts pre-investment assessments of Ghotovi and Tuophema coffee clusters.
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DIMAPUR — Director of Tourism and Industries at the North Eastern Council (NEC), Dr. Sentitula, conducted a pre-investment site inspection of the Ghotovi cluster in Niuland district and the Tuophema cluster in Kohima district on June 22 and 23.
The visit was part of the North Eastern Council’s strategic assessment under the regional Mission Coffee initiative, which aims to develop an integrated "Seed to Cup" coffee value chain that enhances production, processing, value addition, branding, and market access while positioning Nagaland as a producer of speciality single-origin organic coffee.
Accompanied by officials of the Department of Land Resources, the director undertook detailed field inspections in the two clusters to evaluate the readiness of critical infrastructure and plantation components proposed under the project "Cluster-based Coffee Value Chain Development in Nagaland".
During the site visit to the Ghotovi cluster on June 22, Dr. Sentitula interacted extensively with farmers, village leaders, and stakeholders from Nihokhu, Nikhekhu, Kuhoxu, Niuland, Hovishe, and Ghotovi villages.
Discussions focused on the project's long-term socio-economic impact, ensuring evidence of community participation, and including enhanced household incomes, improved agricultural productivity, sustainable land-use practices, employment generation, and the gradual transition from subsistence agriculture to commercially viable coffee cultivation.
Addressing the farming community, Dr. Sentitula reaffirmed the commitment of the North Eastern Council, Ministry of Development of North East Region (DoNER) to supporting the initiative through strategic investments, technical guidance, and institutional collaboration to ensure sustainable implementation. She commended the active participation of local communities in the pilot phase and noted that the Ghotovi cluster has the potential to become a model for coffee-based rural transformation across Nagaland and the wider northeastern region.
Under the Tuophema cluster, Dr. Sentitula visited Gariphema Bawe village, where she inspected coffee plantations adopting sustainable intercropping practices with avocado and black pepper, demonstrating a climate-resilient and diversified farming model.
She also verified the proposed site for the establishment of a coffee washing station (CWS), which will handle the primary processing of freshly harvested coffee cherries into parchment coffee within the cluster.
At Tuophema village, the director inspected the proposed sites for the installation of two Coffee Washing Stations and a Hi-Tech Coffee Nursery that will produce quality coffee seedlings for future area expansion.
She further visited the 2026 coffee plantation spanning approximately 20 hectares with nearly 40,000 coffee plants, representing one of the largest plantation expansions under the Tuophema cluster.
At Tseimekhuma village, she carried out site verification for another proposed CWC aimed at enhancing local coffee processing infrastructure. The visit concluded at Chiechama village, where she inspected the 2026 coffee plantation covering one hectare with around 2,000 coffee plants.
The Director also reviewed the field observations in detail and issued clear directions to the implementing department to ensure strict adherence to all operational and financial guidelines before any project funds are released.
She stressed that beneficiary communities must constitute appropriate community institutions, execute duly signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs), open dedicated bank accounts, adopt prescribed guidelines for the maintenance and management of coffee plantations, and ensure sustained technical support and monitoring by the department.