Government Hikes Outlay To Tea Sector, Incentives To Small Growers
This follows a similar increase in outlay for the rubber sector and is likely to extend to spices and honey, an official said.
The Union government has hiked outlay for tea growers as it seeks to increase productivity, quality, value addition and achieve better price realisation for growers.
The ministry of commerce and industry has announced a hike in the outlay under the ‘Tea Development and Promotion Scheme'.
Accordingly, financial assistance for the tea sector has increased by 82% from Rs 291 crore to Rs 529 crore over the financial years ending March 2025 and 2026, an official privy to the development told NDTV Profit on condition of anonymity.
This follows a similar increase in outlay for the rubber sector and is likely to extend to spices and honey, the same official said.
The revised package of incentives is expected to include the setting up of 800 self-help groups (SHGs) and 330 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) in the next two financial years with an increased assistance of Rs 105.5 crore compared to 40 SHGs and eight FPOs previously planned with an assistance of Rs 2.7 crore.
"This will increase coverage of small tea growers from 1,000 to more than 30,000 in the next two years," the ministry said in a statement. "The assistance is aimed to increase their productivity and quality, greater value addition and thereby greater price realisation."
The assistance to small growers will also include:
Common facilities like field mechanisation equipment, leaf carriage vehicles, leaf sheds, pruning machines, mechanical harvesters and storage godowns.
Setting up of new mini tea units by SHG/FPO/FPCs for production of orthodox, green and specialty teas.
Soil testing for individual small growers was mobilised through SHGs and FPOs.
Capacity building, including through farm field schools for better extension services and the upgrading of the skills of small tea growers on good agricultural practices and tea garden management.
As part of the package, the tea board will promote Indian tea in domestic and international markets to increase exports and set up blending and packaging units for value addition.
Precision farming, drone surveillance, traceability and blockchain, digitisation of activities by the Tea Board are also included among technological interventions at plantations.
The package also includes assistance for replanting old tea bushes, the official cited earlier said.
"Fresh financial support shall be provided for uprooting old (over 50 years) and unproductive tea bushes and carry out replantation in about 1,000 hectares (HA) of area..." the statement said.
