Whether you’re savoring a warm cup of tea at home or during a tense board meeting, tea brings a sense of comfort and relief. But have you ever considered the hidden cost behind those fragrant tea leaves? For tea estate workers in Northeast India, the price of production comes at a heavy toll.
Darjeeling tea production is being affected by various factors, including climate change. To address these challenges, the Tea Board has implemented measures such as enhancing farm management practices, adopting integrated nutrient management, and promoting organic farming in tea cultivation, according to Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Jitin Prasada.
During the Lok Sabha session, the minister spoke about how the tea gardens were impacted.
“The measures adopted by the Tea Board to combat the impact of climate change, inter alia include, planting of drought tolerant cultivars, improving farm management practices, integrated nutrient management, promoting organic agriculture practices in tea, retaining pruning litter and share tree droppings, application of decomposed tea waste, mulching with succulent vegetative matter to reduce soil erosion and minimize raising soil temperature, integrated pest management, maintaining optimum population of shade trees, creation of proper drainage systems and rain water harvesting for better water management,” he said.
Media reports indicate that Darjeeling’s tea industry has experienced a steady decline in production over the past decade. In 2011, tea production stood at 9.14 million kg, dropping to 8.13 million kg by 2016.
Last year, output fell below 6 million kg, possibly marking the lowest in recent history. Unfavorable weather conditions and declining demand have severely impacted production.
