Planters look to mechanise

UPASI CONVENTION

Cost effectiveness is leading the coffe and tea plantation sector in south India to embrace mechanisation.

The industry, dependent on manual labour, needs to adopt mechanisation and pay attention to improving coverage, recovery of field produce, better daily earnings and balanced employment.

To mechanise tea plantations, the 115th annual conference of the United Planters’ Association of Southern India (Upasi) saw a demonstration of the latest equipment at Coonoor.

E-Nose or Electronic Nose, for instance, is an instrument to detect and discriminate the complex odours using sensors.

Demonstrating E-Nose, R S Senthil Kumar, senior tea technologist, Upasi-Tea Research Foundation (TRF), Valparai, said, “Considering the industry needs, C-DAC, Kolkata, developed a non-invasive, real time and low cost electronic nose and vision (ENV) system for measuring aroma, colour, appearance of finished and in-process tea.”

Over a century, tea processing has been by manual intervention and colour of tea leaves play the most important role in optimising the length of the process, estimation of quality and grades of finished tea.

S A Vasudeva Murthy, CMD, Ratnagiri Impex, speaking here said, “Mechanisation in coffee plantation was at the thought level till now. Now the situation has reached a stage where the labour cost is prohibitive and could only worsen. If we fail to mechanise, we may fail. Pulping and washing is mechanised but needs further automation.”

It is estimated about 530 labourers are required per hectare per year to complete the normal cultural operation of estate having the plants of seven years and above in Arabica coffee and 324 labourers are for Robusta coffee.

The labour costs have shot up as sourcing from outside accounts for 8 - 12 per cent more per person per day and the actual working hours have reduced to 6 - 6.5 hours as against 7.5 - 8 hours and the owners are compelled to compromise with the labourers.

“Percentage of labour cost per hectare on Arabica coffee in relation to cost of labour, weeding cost is 16 per cent, spraying 17 per cent, shade looping and trimming, thinning 6 per cent and harvesting cost 21 per cent,” said Vasudeva Murthy.

“These four major activities consume about 60 per cent of the labour cost and the number of workers required. If modernised, 30-40 per cent can be saved,” he added.

As for the percentage of labour cost per hectare in Robusta coffee, again weeding cost is 18.5 per cent, shade lopping and trimming 12.5 per cent and harvesting cost is 32 per cent.

Presenting a paper on ‘Mechanisation of Coffee Plantations’, R C Dutt, vice-president, M K Associates, said, “The urban employment provides Rs 100 - 150 for a day, which unlike the estate’s is not time-oriented and is the main reason for the exodus of labour.”

The work on the estate should be made attractive and should provide better living amenities than the present ones and recreational attractions too are needed to deter them from moving to the citie, he added.