Gowda owns 56 acres of coffee plantation, which also has black pepper, cardamom and vanilla grown alongside. This is a pattern most coffee growers in Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts of Karnataka follow. They add a couple of other crops along with coffee, generating more than one source of income.
Every grower with 50 acres or more of landholding in these districts has rain-gauging devices on their farms. Twenty years ago, it was just a simple self-made device with a funnel and a bucket that would tell them how much rain they received on a particular day or over a few days.
But now, modern equipment provides far more detailed data, helping farmers and planters make decisions about their crops and the economics that come with them. These devices also do not require any permissions to install. As a result, people with large landholdings who produce commercial crops use them to study expected output for the season.
“You can get these devices in the market easily, ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5 lakh,” said Dr Srinivas Reddy, former director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Center speaking to News18. “These devices do not just tell you about the quantity of rain, they greatly help with precision agriculture. Based on the data, one can calculate and even predict production, market trends, diseases, yield and decline in crops,” he explains, adding that these devices have become a boon for farmers and planters.
Weather monitoring devices do not just indicate whether rainfall in a particular area is high or low; They help in localized crop planning. Some farmers maintain detailed manual records of readings. Even the weather monitoring department or KSNDMC has, at times, collected data from such points to improve the density of its data collection.
However, even those with advanced weather-gauge equipment still depend on inputs from the Meteorological Department to predict future rainfall. These devices can provide current and past data, but forecasting still relies on experts, said Prof Thimmegowda MN, agricultural meteorologist at Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK), Bengaluru to News18.
“Planters now have devices that function like automated weather stations. The better ones provide fairly accurate readings on sunshine quality, wind speed, wind direction, evaporation, soil moisture, atmospheric humidity and other parameters. Most coffee growers are well educated and are aware of these tools. They know how to use this data effectively for both plantation and market decisions,” he says.
“Once we know these parameters, crop management becomes easier. At least we are not shooting in the dark,” says Achyuth Kumar, a coffee planter from Aldur in Chikkamagaluru speaking to News18.
“I meticulously note down the data and sometimes discuss it with neighboring growers. If soil moisture reaches a certain level, flowering may turn out well. If rain predictions suggest light showers, fruiting may improve. So we get a rough idea of how the crop may perform this season. If production looks good, we can also estimate market prices. Of course, these are not always accurate. We cannot control the weather. It may suddenly pour heavily and wash everything. But at least we have some dependable knowledge,” he says, explaining how modern weather technology is helping growers make better decisions on when to sell their produce.
Many pepper and cardamom growers also choose to store well-processed, sun-dried black pepper if prices are not favourable. Since properly processed pepper has a longer shelf life, they often wait up to a year for better market rates.
India has produced roughly 3.7–3.9 lakh metric tonnes of coffee annually in 2023–24 and 2024–25 estimates, placing it among the top global producers. Karnataka continues to dominate, contributing around 2.5–2.8 lakh tonnes, or about 70–71 percent of the country’s total output during this period.
This leadership comes from districts such as Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu and Hassan, where both Arabica and Robusta varieties are widely cultivated.
At the same time, coffee cultivation in the region remains closely tied to weather patterns. The crop depends on timely blossom showers, evenly distributed rainfall and relatively stable temperatures. Even minor deviations can affect flowering, fruiting and overall yield quality.
In recent seasons, growers have faced erratic rainfall, hailstorms and sudden heat spikes. These shifts have damaged blossoms, increased the risk of disease and, in some cases, reduced output.
For planters, this makes both production and pricing uncertain. A well-timed spell of rain can improve yields, while an untimely shower can disrupt an entire season, making coffee farming as much about responding to the weather as managing the crop itself. As a result, many rely on their own weather monitoring systems to better anticipate changes and minimize potential losses.
