The government has attached high priority to the plantation of organic coffee, minister of state for commerce Jayaram Ramesh said in Parliament yesterday. Regions in the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Koraput district of Orissa have great potential for producing organic coffee, the minister said while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha. "We are giving it our highest attention,' he said. Organic coffee means a coffee grown under holistic agricultural production management system that includes on farm composting of farm resources, mulching, shade regulation and eco-friendly pest and disease control measures. The production of the variety completely excludes the use of agro chemicals with an aim of preserving the environment and to obtain residue free product. However, in order to provide authenticity to the product as organic, it has to be certified by an accredited certification agency. India is estimated to produce around 262,000 tonnes of coffee this year. The country exports 80 per cent of its domestic produce. Tea replantation While replying to the question on the extent of tea re-plantation done, the minister said, "There are 152 tea gardens in Kerala. Eighteen applications have come till now for re-plantation under the special purpose tea fund.' Attributing the lower number of application to higher cost of plantation in South India and severe shortage of work force, the minister informed that the tea fund was started in Kerala and Tamil Nadu on December 7, 2007. Reopening tea gardens On the question of re-opening closed tea gardens in West Bengal and Kerala, the minister said, "Seventeen tea gardens were closed in Kerala out of which 11 have been re-opened and remaining six will be re-opened in next few months.' However, out of the 14 closed tea gardens in West Bengal, only one has been re-opened so far, he said. Ramesh also informed the house that the re-opened tea garden would become eligible for the special purpose tea fund of Rs 40 crore, announced by the finance minister in the Union Budget for 2008-09 (April-March), if it remains open for a prolonged period of time.