Abdullah Ramzy, known as “Zuvaan Dhanduveriyaa”, has achieved another of his farming ambitions after successfully growing coffee trees with beans now developing on seven trees in his field.

Ramzy, who was born in Meedhoo, Addu told Mihaaru News yesterday that he had dreamed of growing coffee in his own field since 2020. He has already established extensive cultivation of dragon fruit and cucumbers, and hopes to turn his latest achievement into a business.

His first attempt involved growing a small coffee plant brought from Pakistan, but it failed to adapt to the Maldivian environment.

Undeterred, Ramzy brought home young coffee plants from a plantation during a visit to Sri Lanka in 2022 and began experimenting with ways to help them grow in Maldives.

He initially kept the plants in an enclosed space to help them adapt to local conditions. It was not until 2024 that he moved them into direct sunlight.

“Even out in full sun, we adjust the soil once a month to balance the pH. Last year, the trees started flowering,” said Ramzy, 41.

He said flowering was initially delayed because there were no bees in the field to pollinate the plants. To address the problem, he planted flowering trees near the coffee plants, attracting bees that began pollinating the coffee flowers.

The flowers on seven trees have since developed into coffee beans.

After allowing the beans to grow for six months, Ramziy is now looking forward to roasting them and tasting the coffee produced from his own trees.

“People say it will taste better if it is grown to suit the environment of Maldives,” he said.

Ramzy said that each of the existing trees will eventually produce 10 more plants. His next goal is to develop coffee cultivation into a business, building on what he believes could become a new agricultural venture for the Maldives.