Ministry sets up directorate for small tea growers' welfare

The Union commerce ministry has set up a directorate exclusively to look after the welfare of small tea growers. The directorate, approved by the Planning Commission, will soon start functioning under the aegis of the Tea Board.

“This is a very important imperative for the welfare of small tea growers. It is important to look after the interests of small growers, in our approach to inclusive growth,” said Jyotiraditya Scindia, minister of state for commerce, here on Friday. The Planning Commission has sanctioned 50 posts for the directorate. It will have a central office and many regional offices in states, he told reporters on the sidelines of the 119th annual conference of the United Planters’ Association of South India (Upasi).

“We are sure the Tea Board and associations will give their solutions on issues affecting small growers. We have made a start and we are sure it will give good results,” Scindia said.

When questioned about the issues of small coffee growers, the minister said the government will first take lessons from the small tea growers’ directorate and replicate it in other commodities if required and demanded by other plantation sectors.

As the largest commodity plantation in terms of production (976,228 tonnes), the tea sector has 159,200 growers. The area under tea is spread over 580,180 hectares, with an average yield of 1,683 kg per hectare. The southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka have 84,440 growers, with an area of 236,814 hectares. The average yield in south India is the highest in the country at 1,970 kg per hectare.

Commenting on the plantation sector’s demands under the 12th five-year Plan, Scindia said the ministry had recommended not only higher demand for existing schemes but also for starting several new ones. “We have come out with new schemes like R&D, small growers’ tea directorate and other schemes. These are before the Planning Commission. I know what the allocation is but I cannot disclose at this stage,” he said.