Small Growers Demand Support

INDIA

Reports on India’s STGs (small tea growers) increasingly share one single word; “demand.” In the face of climate change, they are demanding that government tax and subsidy policy become farm-centric instead of favoring large estate growers. They demand minimal voice supports for their leaf and strongly urge the government to introduce crop insurance.

This growing advocacy and militancy seems likely to spread across growing nations where large numbers of smallholders depend on favorable climate conditions and know that they are changing face and becoming unstable.

CISTA (Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association) represents over 250,000 farmers, each with plantations of under an acre. It claims to contribute over half of India’s total processed tea yield, through STGs supplying the bought leaf factories not owned by large estates. (Official figures place it at 35%.)

Its president, Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, argues that the estates get government priority in support because they employ around 1.2 million workers. His counter is that there are 2.5 million engaged in the operations of the small growers.

Examples of the disparity on government treatment of grower include a floor limit for tax deduction for bush replanting and irrigation facilities and tariff decreases in a proposed ASEAN trade agreement that are expected to open up a flood of cheap China imports. A January 2108 “charter of demand” for price support includes figures on the growing unprofitability of STGs. Assam production costs average INRs18 per kilo and prices are INRs14. In Tamil Nadu/Kerala, they are INRs18.50 cost and INRs7 price.

How this will all work out is very unclear. Most estimates are that 8 million smallholders produce 70% of the world’s tea. The CISTA situation seems typical and the issues it addresses have major social, economic and political implications.