Low production, falling price leave small-scale tea growers in Wayanad in a fix

A sharp decline in tea leaf production owing to the beginning of summer rain and low farm gate price of the produce have left small-scale tea growers in Wayanad, especially organic tea growers, in a fix.

The production has declined sharply owing to the previous year’s dearth of summer rain and monsoon. Furthermore, the price of tea leaves also declined considerably, said KC Krishnadas, secretary, Wayanad Small-Scale Tea Growers Association (WSSTGA).

The farm gate price of green tea leaves on Friday was ₹15 a kg as against ₹20 a kg two years ago during the corresponding period, added Mr. Krishnadas.

The prevailing price in the market for the produce was not remunerative as the production cost had doubled, he said. Shortage of workers and the increasing inputs were also a cause for concern.

According to available data with the WSSTGA, as many as 8,000 small tea growers in 10 grama panchayats depend on the tea industry for their livelihood. Many of them have a land holding of 50 cents to five acres.

More than 80% of growers in the district could not harvest the produce for the past three months owing to poor summer rain and dry spells in the area. Hence, most plantations were in a neglected state, said A. Hussain, a small-scale farmer at Karadippara. Farmers with facilities to irrigate their tea gardens did not get a remunerative price even during the lean period, he added.

A few years ago, over 200 farmers shifted to the organic way of cultivation on around 200 acres of land, but owing to the dearth of facilities to process their produce and low price for it, most of them shifted to the non-organic sector.

A farmer should get at least ₹22 a kg to survive, said Mr. Hussain. Many farmers had shifted to more remunerative crops such as coffee, but the huge investments deterred most growers, he added.