Tea farming on plain land becomes boon for farmers

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RANGPUR, March 11, 2020 (BSS) – The expanding small-scale and small-holding
tea gardening on plain land has become a boon for farmers to change their
fortune in five sub-Himalayan northern districts in last one decade.

Officials at Panchagarh regional office of Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) said
farmers are showing more interest in highly profitable tea farming following
massive motivational activities being conducted toward the direction.

With continuous expansion of tea cultivation, made-tea production is
increasing every year in the ‘Kartoa Valley’ ecological zone comprising of
Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts.

Being directed by the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to
Panchagarh in 1996, the then Deputy Commissioner Rabiul Islam first planted
some tea saplings on Panchagarh Circuit House premises on experimental basis
and got better results.

“A BTB team conducted feasibility study in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon in
1999 and found 16,000 hectares of land suitable for tea cultivation,” said
Senior Scientific Officer at Bangladesh Tea Research Institute Dr. Mohammad
Shameem Al Mamun.

Dr. Shameem, also the Project Director of Northern Bangladesh Project of
BTB at its Regional Office in Panchagarh, said Tentulia Tea Company Limited
first started farming tea on the plain lands on commercial basis in Tentulia
of Panchagarh in 2000.

Observing better results and quality of produced tea in Tentulia, some
other companies and enthusiastic local farmers started commercial-basis tea
farming there since 2005.

“Since then, small-scale and small-holding tea farming continues
increasing every year in the valley changing fortunes of thousands of small,
marginal and bigger farmers,” Dr. Shameem said.

To further expand tea farming, the BTB started implementing the ‘Expansion
of Small Holding Tea Cultivation in Northern Bangladesh Project’ since 2015
at Taka 4.97 crore to expand tea farming by more than 500 hectares of land
within 2021 in the valley.

“As a result, farmers cultivated tea on 8,681 acres of land in 2019 against
4,557 acres in 2016 and 5,622 acres in 2017 and 7,645 acres in 2018,” Dr.
Shamim said, hoping that the cash crop will be cultivated on over 9,000 acres
of land this year in the valley.

The tea processing factories produced a record quantity of 96-lakh kg
made-tea in 2019 against 84.67-lakh kg in 2018 and 54.40-lakh kg ‘made tea’
in 2017 against only 1.61-lakh kg in 2005 when commercial basis cultivation
began in the valley.

Eighteen companies operating in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts are
processing green tea leaves after producing those in their gardens and
purchasing from small-holders to produce ‘made-tea’ for selling at Chittagong
Auction Market.

Talking to BSS, tea growers Matiar Rahman, Sirajul Islam of village
Sonapatila in Tentulia, Kazi Anisur Rahman of Tentulia and Anwar Sadat Samrat
of Panchagarh said they are now cultivating tea on their 50 to 60 acres of
land.

President of Bangladesh Small Tea Garden Owners’ Association Amirul Haque
Khokan said tea cultivation on `small-holder gardening-basis’ has become a
profitable venture to change the fortune of farmers and improve the living
standard of farm-labourers.

With expansion of tea cultivation, some 20,000 poor farm-labourers,
including 11,000 women, have changed fortune by plucking green tea-leaves and
other agri-activities in tea gardens in the last 11 years.

“The female farm-labourers are earning Taka 500 to 600 as daily wages by
plucking green tea-leaves to lead a better life and educate their children
now in the valley,” Haque added.