JORHAT, April 9 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal asked the small tea growers to concentrate on producing quality tea in order to keep Assam Tea�s glory intact at the global level.
Sonowal was speaking as the chief guest at the 10th triennial conference of Small Tea Growers� Association at Golaghat on Sunday.
The Chief Minister said that Assam Tea is known the world over for its rich flavour and aroma and all stakeholders must pool their efforts to push up quality of the product, and not the other way round.
�We must maintain goodwill and quality of Assam Tea by undertaking best practices and nearly 1.30 lakh small tea growers in the State must work unitedly to achieve this aim,� Sonowal suggested.
He informed that the Government has decided to give land pattas to the small tea growers because the �sons of the soil� must have ownership over their land, and this sense of ownership was expected to produce better quality tea.
�Sab ka sath sab ka vikash is the mantra guiding the Government and no section of people would be left behind in Assam�s journey of development,� the Chief Minister said.
In the aftermath of demonetisation, eight lakh people from the tea tribes community came forward to open bank accounts and thus set an example by joining the formal banking system in such large numbers. Stating that �Advantage Assam: Global Investors� Summit� was successful in showcasing Assam�s potential as a global investment destination and focussing Assam as the gateway to South-Easr Asia, Sonowal said that youth must be attracted towards agriculture and they must be encouraged to take up agriculture along with modern technology.
Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta were also present in the meeting.
