Sustaining small tea cultivation

Assam government's move to give allotment or settlement of 30 bighas of land to small tea growers and other small growers of special cultivation like coffee and rubber was long awaited. The State government has authorised the Deputy Commissioners to make the allotment/ settlement to expedite the process. However, decisions of the deputy commissioners will be tied in the knots of policy interpretations and executive decisions which may make the process cumbersome than expected. The official notification states that the allotment or settlement by the deputy commissioners will be subject to the Sub-Divisional Land Advisory Committee and fulfilment of the condition of the Assam Land Policy 2019 and other executive instructions issued from time to time. The premium for settlement is fixed at Rs 1000 per bigha up to 30 bighas. The allotment will help small tea growers to avail loans from banks or other financial institutions for increasing production and meeting other financial needs. The small tea cultivation grew into a silent economic revolution in Assam in early nineties and has given rise to over one lakh first generation Assamese entrepreneurs in the state's tea production sector.

Assam accounts for more than 50 per cent of India's total tea production and small tea growers contribute more than 40 per cent the total tea produced in the state. The contribution of small tea growers to tea production at the national level too is growing significantly and increased from 48.29 per cent in 2018 to 49 per cent in 2019. The conferment of land rights cannot be expected to immediately free the small tea growers from the mercy of the bought leaf tea factories for realization of green leaf price. It will, however, pave the way for setting up factories by small tea growers if they can form cooperatives or Self-Help Groups to enter the tea value chain.The Tea Board of India in 2013 approved setting up of micro and mini tea factories by small tea growers and their SHGs and announced subsidy of 40 per cent of actual cost of plant and machinery. The Tea Board of India set the limit of maximum production capacity in a mini tea factory at 500 kilograms of made tea a day. The Tea Board and the Assam Government facilitating the formation of the SHG or cooperative movement among small tea growers will help them derive maximum benefit of getting land settlement. Realization of green leaf price by small growers is also critical to ensuring payment of minimum wages to workers by them. The State government fixed daily wage of tea garden workers in unorganized sector Rs 244. However, associations of small tea growers expressed their inability to the pay their garden workers at this rate if the State government and the Tea Board do not fix a minimum benchmark price for green leaves produced by them.

The growing share of these growers of the total tea production in the country indicate the increasing size of workers in unorganized sector of tea production. It has the potential to grow into a larger labour issue if not handled in time and carefully. The uncertainty in wage will also keep alive the problem of these temporary workers leaving their jobs at small tea gardens whenever they get better livelihood opportunities that promise them better wages than what they are now getting. Adverse effect on the small tea gardens on account or labour shortage arising from such a situation will have a cascading effect in the state economy. Over 800 big tea gardens employ around five lakh permanent workers and five lakh temporary workers. The small gardens employ about five to six lakh workers in the state.

The issue of wage fixation for workers cannot be seen in isolation from realization of green price in of case small tea gardens. The State government must address the two issues simultaneously to hammer out a pragmatic solution. Addressing the two issues may help it politically in addressing the growers whose number has grown and the workers employed by them whose number is also growing steadily. However, while the State government may be able to reach out to both these two important sections who matter in the state's electoral politics, a solution to the problems of both the sections will continue to be elusive. The allotment/settlement of the land for small tea growers is a step towards improving their access to bank credits through mortgaging of the allotted or settled land. Following it with facilitating the SHGs or cooperatives of small tea growers set up mini tea factories without any hassle will be the second important step to be taken by the State government. The government will also have to ensure that welfare of workers of small tea gardens including better wages and their social security is not overlooked.