The state government has sought permission from the Central government to raise 10,000 hectare of coffee plantations in the Eastern ghats of the state.

The proposal sent by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) will provide employment to 7,500 tribal families living below the poverty line and will also generate 12 lakh mandays of employment.

The proposal outlines expansion of coffee plantations in reserve forest areas and abandoned podu or shifting cultivation areas in the districts of Visakha-patnam and East Godavari, which have a climate suitable for the growing of the coffee shrub.