Small tea growers with entrepreneural skills

Dibrugarh , Assam : Amidst raging price fluctuations, escalating costs of production and lower yields of green tea leaves, most of the economic woes of the small tea growers can be erased only if the small growers learn to be better entrepreneurs. A livelihood is sustainable for the tea growers if it can recover from stress and shocks (local, domestic and international) and increases its competency in the global market. The Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, which has taken the challenge to empower and encourage the tea growers and its workers, has underlined.

CEC believes that proper approach and ambitious yet applicable strategies could bring considerable change in the economy of the almost frustrated tea growers. The programmes the CEC harps on are part that will empower tea growers to cope with continued economic and ecological crisis, changes in the market structure due to globalization.

The CEC which claims to have made a study on the whole aspect of tea in India feels every contributors of the supply chain should have share equal to their contribution, adding, only that can be a good business. To begin with its empowerment programme, CEC is primarily focusing on getting all the small tea growers in groups- self help groups to encourage community enterprises. The organization is also imparting orientation and training to the self-help groups already formed. The trainings are part of the project "sustainable livelihood for small tea growers and workers in India".

The objectives behind the formation of societies of the Tea Board of India (TBI) are extension-technology and information dissemination, leaf collection, storage and transportation, procurement and supply of inputs such as fertilizers, plant protection chemicals, sprayers, pruning machines, irrigation equipments etc to the members of society.

To ensure these objectives, according to Utpal Kumar Mishra, field officer, CEC, understanding among members, knowledge on cultivation and market trends, transparency and proper accounting system, records maintenance, learning mind-set from the scientific system of tea maintenance, and avoiding middlemen are must.

The CEC with the logistical support from the All Assam Small Tea Growers Association (AASTGA) has been conducting series of trainings among the new and old societies in co-ordination with regional committees under Borboruah, Lahoal, Belbari, Tengakhat, Barekuri in Dibrugarh district as well as neighbouring Tinsukia district. As the central committee representative, Diban Phukan, publicity secretary, AASTGA is attending the programme along with Mishra, the field officer, CEC.

During the initial research, the CEC found that many societies were not in the track (interest conflict, poor cultivation practices, lack of basic information and understanding about tea industry). “It was observed that growers even though are society members do not understand the basic objective behind the formation of societies (SHG)”, Mishra shared while interacting with *The Assam Tribune*.

The issues like, importance of society, activities of TBI and Tea Research Asociation (TRA), importance of quality, auction system of tea, marketing of tea, supply chain of tea, improvement in bargaining are being covered during the orientation programme.

CEC believes that communities are both subjects and objects of change and they have much strength to change into vigorous communities. "They really need the ideas and knowledge to understand about their own role and situation in the tea industry," Mishra said.

Source: Assam Tribune