The Japan government on Friday agreed to provide a grant support of Rs 7.7 million (US $68,185) for the construction of a coffee processing center in Kavrepalanchok district.

The support under the Japan government’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project will be used in setting up one each coffee pulping and processing centre at Timal Rural Municipality of the district. The pulping centre is for cleaning the coffee beans while processing centre is for roasting and packaging the beans after roast, according to a statement issued by the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu.

The agreement to this effect was signed between Masamichi Saigo, Japanese ambassador in Nepal, and Jit Ram Lama, chairperson of Association of Rural Social Welfare Nepal, who is also the president of NGO Federation Nepal.

Currently, raw coffee beans need to be ferried to Kathmandu for sell which has low value. With the installation of the pulping and processing center, the farmers will get high value for their production, said the statement.

The Japanese Embassy has also agreed to export the coffee beans from the center to Japan for the promotion of Nepali coffee. “Along with setting up the processing centre, support will be provided in marketing the beans,” reads the statement.