Home ›› 22 Sep 2022 ›› Nation
Farmers in Lalmonirhat are losing interest in tea cultivation due to the lack of processing facilities in the area which is preventing them from raising enough capital to sustain the business, said Lalmonirhat Tea Board office sources.
Many of the growers and traders opine that they will cut down the tea plants and shift to the cultivation of other crops including maize and potato.
Enayet Miah, a farmer of Baura village under Patgram upazila of the district, said that he started tea cultivation on one-and-a-half acres of plain land five years back with the support of the Bangladesh Tea Board (BTA).
He made profit from tea cultivation last year, selling tea leaves at Tk 22-30 per kg. “But, this year, tea leaves are selling for less than half of the last year’s price, incurring huge losses for me,” he said.
“We have to take the tea leaves around 150 kilometers away to Panchagarh for sale as there is no tea-processing factory in Lalmonirhat. Due to the long-distance transportation, quality of the tea leaves deteriorates drastically,” he added.
The soaring price of diesel, fertiliser and pesticide coupled with increased labour cost increase the production cost of per kg tea leaves by Tk 10-12.
“We the small tea farmers do not have enough capital to sustain the business. So, I have decided to stop the tea plantation and go for maize cultivation on the same land as it has been proved more profitable during the past few years,” he also said.
Tea growers, however, in Panchagarh are getting Tk 14-16 per kg this year as the leaves remain fresh during delivery because of close proximity to the processing units.
Taibur Rahman, another tea grower from Nabinagar village of Patgram upazila, said tea growers of Lalmonirhat have to sell their produce at Panchagarh tea markets. Farmers would not have to count losses if there was a tea processing company in the district. They would not have to bear the additional transportation costs and the quality of the leaves would have remained fresh while selling.
“After spending an additional Tk 6 per kg for transportation of tea leaves, we are forced to sell our produce at a discount price fixed by the processing units at Panchagarh,” he also said.
“I will stop tea farming cutting down the existing plants on two acres of land and cultivate maize and other crops if the current market price of tea leaves persists,” he added.
Anjumanara Begum, a farmer-cum tea sapling trader from Doikhawa village under Hatibandha upazila of the district, said the price of tea saplings has plummeted drastically this year.
A tea sapling was sold at Tk 10-12 three months ago which has decreased to Tk 3-4 at present, whereas the production cost of a sapling is around Tk 4. She has to count losses in the trade due to the decreased market price.
According to the Bangladesh Tea Board’s regional office in Lalmonirhat, some 116 farmers have been cultivating tea currently on 210 acres of land in the district. Last year, the district produced 6.50 lakh kg tea leaves.
A target has been fixed to produce 7.50 lakh kg leaves this year of which around 5 lakh kgs have already been harvested and sold by the end of August.
Project Director at Lalmonirhat Tea Board Office Arif Khan said tea growers in the district are failing to make expected profit as they have to bear additional transport costs and sell their leaves at a discount price.
Farmers are to sell the leaves at a discount price in the processing factories of Panchagarh as the quality of the leaves deteriorates during the 150-160 kilometres journey from Lalmonirhat.
He also said there is huge potential of tea farming in the district. The sector has the potential to generate employments for vulnerable groups and bring economic benefits for the farmers.
The land of the district is suitable for tea farming. Farmers need a one-time investment for cultivation. It costs around Tk 1.25 lakhs to plant tea saplings on one acre of land. The cost may also decrease depending on the farmers’ labour and nurturing of the garden, he added.
Arif Khan said tea- leaves usually need at least three years to be matured for processing. Fortunately, it takes less than three years on average in the flat land which is also a great advantage for the farmers.
“A farmer can usually pluck green leaves eight times from the garden in a year. They could have made lucrative profit selling the product if there was any processing plant in the district,” he said.
“A plan has been undertaken to set up private tea processing plants in Lalmonirhat to encourage the farmers and promote the business,” he added.
