Coffee is a fast-growing farm enterprise that has opened new incomes for farmers around the world. It is not just a drink; it is a high-value crop, and Bangladesh's hills can grow it.

• High income: a well-run plantation earns a large annual profit; world prices are competitive.
• Trade: coffee is among the most exported farm products on earth, and quality coffee can build a brand.
• Jobs: from nursery to harvest to processing, every stage employs people.

• Coffee bushes hold the soil, stop erosion and enrich its life.
• Shade-grown coffee stores carbon and cools the land.
• The plantation improves the soil's water-holding.

Farmers gain a steady income; local markets grow; women and young people find work at every level of the chain.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants, sharpens the mind and, drunk in moderation, is good for the heart.

Coffee is new to the country but spreading. Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari have the climate; the market at home and abroad is waiting. What is needed is good seed, training and the patience of the three years to the first harvest. After that, the hills could earn from every cup.

Photo: Ripe coffee cherries on the bush — Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)