The Tea Association of India has requested the Union government and the Tea Board to reintroduce subsidy for rejuvenation of tea bushes in the plains of Assam and West Bengal .jpg) After water, tea is the most extensively consumed drink in India and across the world and in terms of tea production, India ranks as one of the leading tea producing countries in the world. With tea drinking becoming popular with time, domestic tea growers are now burdened with an extra responsibility of meeting the surging demand for tea—in terms of quality and quantity—in both domestic and global markets.
However, factors such as uneconomic yield of tea plants accompanied by losses incurred after uprooting the uneconomical tea bushes as well as labour shortage in the tea gardens obstruct tea growers from meeting consumer demand.
Subsidy for rejuvenation
Addressing the issue, the Tea Association of India (TAI) has insisted the Union government and the Tea Board of India to reintroduce 25% subsidy for the rejuvenation of tea bushes in the plains of Assam and West Bengal.
“If the subsidy is reintroduced then it would save the tea growers of these states from incurring losses. In fact, we are urging the government and the Tea Board to encourage and assist re-plantation as well as rejuvenation simultaneously,” said D P Maheshwari, president of TAI, in an interview with a FoodProcessing360 correspondent.
The subsidy, however, was there for rejuvenation of tea bushes till 2005, which the government lifted later as it was working on some other scheme. At present, the tea gardens of the hill stations enjoy this subsidy.
What is rejuvenation of tea bushes?
According to tea experts, rejuvenation of tea bushes is considered to be a better techniqueto enhance the production of tea plants, both in terms of quality and quantity.
“In a bid to rejuvenate tea bushes, the grower has to cut the bushes at about 22 inches and clean the diseased parts of the existing bush. Thereafter, the bushes are allowed to grow like other normal bushes. Rejuvenation restores the economic yield of the tea bushes for the next 10-15 years,” said C S Bedi, chairman of Tea Research Association.
Emphasising on the need for sanctioning the subsidy, the TAI president said that it would help the tea growers in producing more and better quality tea at a juncture when tea consumption is destined to grow in the years to come.
Shalmoli Kundu |
