Send officers who can communicate: Assam small tea growers to Tea Board

GUWAHATI

Assam’s small tea growers have asked the Tea Board of India to assign officers and experts who can communicate with the stakeholders in the language they understand to increase efficiency and quality output.

In a memorandum to the Tea Board’s Chairperson on Sunday (March 2, 2025), the North East Confederation of Small Tea Growers’ Association, or NECSTGA, said the small-scale planters and their workforce often fail to comprehend what Tea Board officials and experts say.

“Most of the Tea Board officers come from southern India. They are ignorant about the local language and it is difficult to exchange knowledge and skills, and provide training to the small tea growers,” NECSTGA president Diganta Phukan and secretary-general Binod Buragohain said in the letter.

The association urged the Tea Board to implement its transfer policy so that officers, irrespective of the State they come from, are conversant in Assamese, Hindi, or other regional languages the small tea growers of the northeast speak or understand.

The NECSTGA also requested the Tea Board to tweak its development and promotion scheme under the 15th Finance Commission to provide financial assistance in advance instead of reimbursing the expenditure incurred by the small tea growers.

“The scheme of 100% assistance to self-help groups, farmer producer organisations, and farmer producer companies is good but the procedure of sanctioning and disbursement of funds needs to be easy and streamlined,” the association said.

It advised the Tea Board to explore options such as the Assam government’s cess utilisation policy to transfer funds directly to the dealers and suppliers from whom the small tea growers purchase their goods.

The NECSTGA further asked the Tea Board to make certain concessions for small tea growers of certain northeastern States such as Nagaland, where Article 371A of the Constitution of India granting special rights is applicable.

The association pointed out that Nagaland has no land authority other than the village council. “Land documents issued by these village councils should be accepted for issuing QR cards to the small tea growers of Nagaland to help them avail of the benefits under the Tea Board schemes,” it said.

The northeastern States have more than 2 lakh small tea growers who contribute 54% of teas produced in the region.