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Small farmers raise concerns over plan to repeal Tea Act

Udhagamandalam: Small tea farmers in the Nilgiris have expressed concern over the proposal of the central government to repeal the Tea Act, 1953.

The Nilgiri Small Tea Growers & Farmers Development Society (NSTGFDS), in a press release, said that it will approach the central government with a request to safeguard the interest of small tea growers in the event of the Act being revoked.



Stating that the proposal should be approached with a note of caution, founder president of NSTGFDS H N Sivan said, “The Act and its earlier versions were enacted primarily with a view to regulate the marketing of made-tea, with a focus on its export. The board was created with certain powers to attend to the issues pertaining to small tea growers. But as per the Act, there is no provision. However, over the years, the board, by way of executive orders, extended certain benefits to the welfare of small tea farmers. In recent times, the small tea farmers are coming forth to engage themselves in the manufacturing process also. The concept of mini and micro tea processing centres is being contemplated for their upliftment. Major setback to the small tea growers on this issue is marketing of product. They are being encouraged to take up the task of entrepreneurs.”

At this juncture, if the Act is revoked, the tea industry would be jolted, said R Dharuman, managing trustee of Nelikolu Charitable Trust, an NGO concentrating on small tea farmers. “The most affected would be small tea growers, as they comprise over 50%. We will approach the government under the banner NSTGFDS,” he said.

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