Kolkata: Small tea growers are becoming a force to reckon with in the Indian tea industry. In 2023, the small tea growers from Assam, West Bengal and South India have contributed 53 per cent of the country’s total tea production of 1,367 million kg. Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association, said, “We are hoping that the government will soon announce a minimum support price (MSP) for green leaf. It has already announced MSP for raw jute to help the jute farmers.”
The rise in small tea production has also boosted entrepreneurship in Assam and West Bengal. Bimal Gogoi, a 25-year-old from Assam’s Tinsukia district, said, “I have started growing tea on one acre of land that belongs to my family. It has given me a way to earn my living.”
The small tea growers have got a major boost recently as the government has announced financial assistance provided to the tea sector under the Tea Development & Promotion Scheme. The scheme has witnessed an increase in allocation of 82 per cent from Rs 290.81 crore to Rs 528.97 crore for the next two financial years (2024-25 and 2025-26).
Under the scheme, the small tea growers are set to receive a range of incentives and the authorities concerned are mulling mobilise them into self-help groups (SHGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). In the next two financial years, a target to establish 800 SHGs and 330 FPOs has been set up with increased assistance of Rs 105.5 crore as compared to 40 SHGs and eight FPOs that was planned earlier with an assistance of Rs 2.7 crore
This move is expected to expand coverage of small tea growers from 1,000 to more than 30,000 in the next two years. The objective of the assistance is to improve productivity and quality, culminating in greater value
addition, which in turn will fetch higher prices for the tea that is being produced by the small tea growers.
The assistance is aimed towards providing common facilities like field mechanisation equipment, leaf carriage vehicles, leaf sheds, pruning machines, mechanical harvesters and storage warehouses. Additionally, the small tea growers are receiving much-needed support so that new mini-tea units can be established by SHGs/FPOs for the production of Orthodox, Green and Specialty teas to propel small tea growers to climb up the value chain.
Apart from these, vital assistance has also been dedicated to carrying out soil testing for individual small growers mobilised through SHGs/FPOs. Moreover, it is also aimed towards capacity building through Farm Field Schools for better extension services and upgrading the skills of small tea growers and educating them on good agricultural practices and efficient tea garden management.
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