Araku Coffee bags Changemaker of the Year Award

Girijan Cooperative Corporation’s (GCC) ‘Araku Valley Coffee’ was honoured with the prestigious “Changemaker of the Year Award–2025” in the category Financial Transformation, at the seventh edition of the Business Line Changemakers Awards held in Mumbai on Friday (September 26, 2025). Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri presented the award to GCC Vice Chairman and Managing Director Kalpana Kumari.

In a release on Saturday (September 27, 2025), Ms. Kalpana Kumari said that the introduction of coffee cultivation in Araku Valley by the GCC during the 1970s has emerged as a transformative initiative elevating subsistence farming into a sustainable and lucrative livelihood while concurrently preserving ecological integrity. The resounding success of Araku Coffee is the culmination of decades of unwavering dedication, particularly the last decade of resolute efforts by the Divisional Managers of Paderu and Chintapalli, Managers, and Coffee Procurement Staff, who meticulously engaged with farmers to ensure quality at the grassroots level.

Building upon this legacy, GCC attained Organic Certification in 2024 for 6,000 acres of coffee and black pepper plantations owned by 2,600 farmers in Chintapalli and G.K. Veedhi mandals in A.S.R. District. Ambitious plans are underway to extend certification to an additional 15,000 acres across four mandals, benefiting 10,000 farmers and encompassing other crops in addition to coffee and pepper, she said.

Furthermore, during the Adivasi Divas celebrations on August 9, 2025, at Paderu, a MoU was executed between GCC and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. (TCPL) in the presence of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, for the launch of Organic Soluble Coffee, a pioneering product unprecedented in India.

“To bolster its infrastructure, GCC is also establishing a state-of-the-art Integrated Coffee Processing Unit (Bean to Cup model) at Makavarapalem near Narsipatnam in Anakapalli district. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has allocated 12 acres of land and sanctioned ₹10 crore for this project, which will enhance value addition and market accessibility,” she added.