The tribal farmers have very small land holdings. Previously they used to grow food crops in these lands in addition to labour work at the coffee estates. During the early nineties when there was a boom in coffee prices the tribal farmers converted their little land holdings into coffee plantations.

But they cannot easily afford to buy any extra seeds, fertilizers and insecticides which are generously used in the coffee estates. Hence their productivity is less and marketing their produce is a big problem as they are fully dependent on the middle men.

Thus their productivity is mere 150 kilos per acre as compared 250 kilos per acre in the estates.

Majority of the tribal lands are vested with the private coffee estates. In times of emergencies with no cash economy the tribal families are forced to pledge their lands against small sums of advances. With exorbitant interest rate the families ends up only paying the interests rates. In due course the land ownership changes and the impoverished Tribals are left high and dry.

The tribal family’s sustenance is now dependent on their wage labour at the coffee estates. Most often the entire families work the adults men and women are involved in the coffee pruning, spraying insecticides, pesticides. The children are involved in sundry work and for picking up the spices on the tall trees.

Currently the small coffee growers of Yercaud the tribal farmers are in deep trouble.

Thangasamy, the tribal farmer says, “Earlier government managed Coffee Board was operating in the region whose main work was to buy the coffee beans at the current market price. The coffee beans were purchased only from the licensed farmers and procurement of only good quality beans was done. The coffee board used to sell the beans to outside market and if theirs were higher spurt in prices – it used to give bonus to us.”

Chinnamal added, “Further the required quantity of fertilisers, pesticides used to be supplied to us for cost by the coffee board.”

Chinnan laments, “With the closure of the coffee board the trends have changed and now those who are not the producer are mixing up the ripe and unripe beans thereby selling inferior quality coffee beans in the market. Due to this the rates of coffee has drastically come down which is affecting us very badly.

We all tribal farmers want the coffee board to reopen and enable us to market beans produced by us.

With the falling prices of coffee and no alternative source of livelihood many tribal farmers are resorting to migration to neighbouring cities. Now there is increasing trend of farmers returning back to Yercaud afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Basically the families are left behind and the men migrate. Even the district administration is alarmed at the rising rates of positive cases of HIV/AIDS and has ordered special probe into the same.