Facing losses, tea producers use idle land for alternate crops
Times of India | 25 May 2024
Kolkata: Reeling under losses in business, tea garden owners are opting for alternative farming in their surplus land. Plantations of black pepper, spices, betel nuts, medicinal plants, vegetables and fruits have already come up on idle land in tea gardens, mostly in Darjeeling and Assam, say tea producers.
Vikram S Gulia, MD of Tata subsidiary Amalgamated Plantations Pvt Ltd and chairman of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tea committee, told TOI: “The present state of the tea industry is grim in India.We are facing challenges in promoting our products in international markets and the export of Darjeeling tea has also slumped drastically. This has prompted several tea growers in Bengal to cultivate other crops alongside tea farming to recover from the losses.”
Bengal govt is also giving boost to alternative farming on tea garden land, says Subrata Gupta, additional chief secretary of the food processing and horticulture department. “State govt has already come up with a policy allowing tea garden owners to use a portion of their land for other productive purposes. This diversification can provide additional income streams and reduce dependence on tea alone,” he said.
At a tea conclave held by ICC recently, Gupta asked tea producers to stop using chemical fertilisers. “The use of biofertilisers can improve the soil health of tea gardens. We have conducted soil surveys in Kalimpong and Darjeeling and found soil degradation. We are working with scientists to restore the soil of these places,” he said.