GUWAHATI, Nov 3 � Many small tea growers in upper Assam are facing a crisis as the fertility of their land is gradually diminishing on account of widespread use of pesticides and other inorganic fertilizers. It needs to be mentioned that since the 70�s rural areas in upper Assam had witnessed an economic upsurge that was triggered by tea cultivation on small scale by the local people. Improvement in the living standards of the small tea growers had encouraged the unemployed youth to adopt the practice of tea cultivation.
But now these small tea growers are in the midst of a dilemma-apart from the headaches like fluctuation in the price of tea leaves, another major trouble is brewing for them. That is the gradual deterioration in the quality of the land which has motivated a section of the small tea growers to opt for organic method of cultivation.
The first small tea grower in the State, Someswar Phukan who is also the president of the All Assam Small Tea Grower's Association, Sivasagar district committee has decided to switch over to organic method of cultivation and has been requesting other small tea growers to adopt the organic method.
What is more, the committee has even approached the Tea Board with a written request for sufficient fund with 100 per cent subsidy for the small tea growers who may be interested to adopt organic method and who are already running organic tea gardens.
�We have requested the Tea Board to permit small tea growers to set up mini/micro factory so that they can produce their own brand of tea," said Phukan. He had started cultivation in 1976 and is the owner of a 40 bigha tea garden at present.
Phukan said that it is time all the small tea growers in the State realized that the land would be totally poisoned in the days to come if organic practice is not adopted at the earliest. "We have launched an awareness drive and many small tea growers have come forward to convert to organic cultivation," said Phukan informing that workshops have been held in interior areas on the method, advantages and market of organic tea.
