A STUDY ON
ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT AND
ISSUES RELATED TO TEA GARDENING
SYLHET, BANGLADESH
Acknowledgement
The study
entitled “A study on Origin, Development and Issues related to tea gardening,
Sylhet, Bangladesh” was undertaken by Department of Geography and Environment,
University of Dhaka. It was an attempt to understand the present socio economic
condition of tea workers, and find out there social and Environmental problems
related to tea garden.
The study was
organized by the Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka
and financed both by the department and students. I am very grateful and
showing my profound gratitude to Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir, Associate Professor,
Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka for his scholastic
guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement for implementing the
study. Without his guidance this won’t be conceivable to achieve fruition of
the study. The
blessing, help and guidance given by him time to time shall carry me a long way
in the journey of life on which I am about to embark.
I
would also like to thank Professor Dr. Rejwan Hossain Bhuiyan, Professor Dr.
Hafiza Khatun, and Asib Ahmed, lecturer Department of Geography and
Environment, University of Dhaka for their guidance and constant encouragement
for carrying out the study.
Again
I would like to show my gratitude to the Owner, Manager and others of Burjan
Tea Estates limited for his support, suggestions and information during the
study period.
The
teachers of Department of Food Engendering and Tea technology, SUST should be
recognized by me for their sincere help, felicitation and presentation on tea which gave a great idea on tea
plantation and its origin and development.
Finally
I would like to acknowledge the students of Geography and Environment, University
of Dhaka for their cooperation and hard work to make this study possible.
Abstract
Tea is a long
established plantation crop of enormous economic importance to Bangladesh
meeting the entire domestic demand of this cheapest health beverage. Tea
workers are the main well power for the progress of the tea gardens. The
present study is about the socio economic condition of the Sylhet tea gardens.
It is including the demographic, economic, social, socio economic and as well
as the environmental aspects related to the workers of Sylhet tea garden. It is
also posing their needs, benefits, lacking and progress relate to the tea
garden. Finally the study giving some recommendations and suggestions to
develop the present scenario and increasing the production of tea production.
Table of Contents
List of Figure
Fig 1:Tea Production and Tea Export(1961-2007)
Fig 2: Production, Export and Domestic
consumption of tea in Bangladesh
Fig 3: Male Female Ratio of Sylhet Tea
Garden Workers
Fig 4: Workers in
Different Sectors of Sylhet Tea Garden
Fig5 : District of Origin
Fig 6: Housing type of Sylhet tea garden
Workers
Fig 7: Wage Development of Sylhet Tea Workers
Fig 8: Wage satisfaction of Sylhet
Fig 9: Environmental issues related to
Sylhet tea garden
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Importance/ Significance of Research Work
Tea culture is
an art, a science an epigraph of agro- industrial technology. There are multi-
disciplinary concepts and technologies which are originated and blended from a
wide array of physical, biological and agricultural science to give rise to the
tea technology; Human civilization has hither to discover three non-alcoholic
stimulating beverages, namely, coffee, cocoa and tea. Of these tea is regarded
as the most popular temperance drink.
Tea cultivation
in Bangladesh is spread over the hilly zone on the eastern side mainly in four
districts namely Sylhet, Maulvibazar, Habigang, Chittagong and Panchagar. Bangladesh
is producing more than 100 million kilogram tea annually forms about 1, 15,820.33 ha of
land. Bangladesh export about 2.5 million kg of tea to about seventeen
countries in 2011-12 years and earn about 25 crore TAKA.
At present 3, 50,314 populations are involved with the tea
industry of which 49% are women. The amount of registered labor is 87,709
persons. There are some organizations in the Bangladesh who’s helping the tea
industry in a lot more. The area of tea plantation has increased about 2.5
times after the creation of Bangladesh and increased about 4 times after
starting of tea plantation in this region.
Tea is playing an important role in national economy. It
is contributing to national GDP, earning foreign money and also meeting initial
demand of internal people.IN 2013-14 years the internal amount of tea purchase
57.55 million kg value of about 10.098 billion take BDT and export was about
1.5 million kg earning about 0.2223 billion taka.
There is very less risk of heart disease as it prevents blood
from clotting and helps to decrease cholesterol levels. And it also helps in
shielding you from some of the most deadly diseases mankind has ever known.
Some researches shows that having the 2 cups of tea every day can reduce your
risk of developing ovarian cancer by 50% and also useful to exploit your body
defenses to fight diseases like cancer and heart disease. Black tea protects
you against cancers.
1.2 Objectives of the study
·
TO investigate the origin
and development of tea plantation in study area
·
To assess the social,
economic and environmental consequences of tea gardening
·
To find out the living
condition of tea workers
·
To find out the
education level of tea workers and their family
·
Finally to identify
problems/ issues related to tea plantation in the study area
1.3 Methodology
1.3.1 Selecting Study Area
Out of 163 tea gardens of Bangladesh there are as many as 18
tea gardens existing in Sylhet Sadar Upazila and Jaintapur Upazila. Out of 18
tea gardens, two were selected by random sampling method considering the size
and location of each garden. The tea gardens that were selected for the study
were Khadim tea estate and Burjan tea estate of Sylhet Sadar Upazila. We also
visited BTRI Tea Garden and Finlay Tea Garden in Shreemangal, Maulvibazar for
data collection.
1.3.2 Selecting Respondents
In order to ensure proper representation, respondents were
selected from two broad categories of managements, namely Burjan Tea Estate and
Bangladesh Tea Board. A latest list of the number of households existing in
each tea-garden was collected from the individual tea garden for the purpose of
selecting the household respondents.
Four types of interview schedule were prepared. The total
member of randomly selected respondents was 310. Out of 310 respondents, the
number of male, female and adolescent boys/girls respondents was 282. Out of
1190 respondents, 112 respondents were adolescent boys/girls. There were 18
panchayet members, 06 staffs of management committee of each tea garden and 02
union council members among the total member of 1216 respondents. The age range
of the respondents was (15-70) years.
1.3.3 Data Collection
Interview schedule with questionnaire and observation
methods were mostly used to collect requisite data for the study. At first a
draft schedule was prepared considering the objectives of the study. Then the
schedule was pretested in the selected area among a few tea garden workers.
After making necessary modification and correction, the final schedule was
prepared. The interview schedule was both close and open ended. The research
assistants collected data following survey method, using interview schedule.
The data are collected during the period of the months February, 2014. After
the collection of whole range of data, they were processed and tabulated.
Secondary data has been used in this study. Secondary data
have been collected from different published documents of the Government like
Economic Survey Reports, Statistical Yearbooks, journals and reviewed papers.
Furthermore, various national and international organizations like NGO (BRAC),
BTRI, World Bank etc. have been reviewed. In the analyses process of collected
data, various statistical tools like averages, percentages, tables, and
diagrams have been applied.
Primary Data
·
Direct field
observation
·
Internal group
observation with people involved in tea gardening
·
Key informant
interview with garden owners/ managers/ associates
·
Individual interviews
with employees/managers/ suns with sen structured questionnaires
Secondary Data
·
Brochures/ Reports/
Documents of the tea gardeners
·
Brochures/ Reports/
Documents of Tea Board
·
Theses/ Research
reports/ Paper etc.
·
Internet source
·
Books
1.4 Limitation of the study
Time was the most limiting factor of the study. The study
would more specify and more information would come if more time could be given.
Major numbers of tea gardens owners are private company. So it was hard to
collect all the facts from the company. Secondary data source is insufficient
of this study. We had to depend on primary data only. The managing committee
members are not available to talk with them. Otherwise we couldn’t get
permission to talk with them. Respondent’s unconsciousness is a limiting
factor. Sometimes respondents avoided some
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Tea is one of the most popular and lowest cost beverages
in the world which is consumed by a large number of people. Because of its huge
demand it is measured to be the major component on the global beverage market.
The present demand for tea in 2013-2014 is estimated as 6.5 million tones which
are expected to be rise in 2015 is about 10.57 million in volume whose market
price would be about 69.77 billion. The demand of tea is increasing rapidly
which can easily seen by the statistical information of world tea production.
In year 2003 the yearly production of tea was measured as 3.21 million tones
which increased to 4.52 million tones in year 2010. The production increased
about 5.7% from 2003 to 2010 and it increase about 3.1% in 2010-2011. World’s
most tea producing country is China and India who produce about 75% of total
tea cultivated in the world. According to FAO in 2007 the largest importer of
tea by Russian Federation, followed by the United Kingdom, Pakistan and United
States. Kenya, China, India, and Sri Lanka are the largest tea exporter of tea
who exported 374229,292199,193459 and 190203 tons respectively.
Bangladesh is one of the most teas producing county in
the world but most of the tea about 98% of it is consumed by its internal
consumers. The demand of tea in Bangladesh increasing rapidly but the
production of tea is not upgrading compare to its demand which is degrading the
export in international market. As the investment on tea in Bangladesh is not
sufficient about 3.64% oer annum which is causing the slow growth of 2.94% per
year in the production of tea while the international tea consumption is
increasing at a rate of 14.23% per annum over the last 39 years (1973-2011).
Massive investment is needed to surplus the tea production.
Most of the tea estates are located in the northeast
region of Bangladesh. The first tea garden was established by the Duncan
Brothers. Since then all the tea gardens have been established by clearing
jungles. Those who did the jungle clearing were non-locals brought by Duncan
from Assam, Bihar, Madras, Orissa and other places in India.
Chronological
development of tea garden in BD:
1. Chittagong
(Experiment) :1840
2. Sylhet
(Malnicherra) :1857
3. Hobigonj
(Lalchand) :1860
4. Moulvibazar
(Meertinga) :1860
5. Panchagarh :2000
Back home they were told that they would arrive at a
“lovely garden in the hill country where they would look after trees with
leaves of pure gold which would fall if you (they) shook them” (Jones 1986:11).
Right
now Bangladesh has 163 tea gardens (including seven in Panchagarh where tea
cultivation started only recently) with 36 of them considered "sick."
One unique feature of the tea industry is that the entire land mass (115,000 ha
excluding Panchagarh) granted for production of tea is government land. It is
also for the colonial legacy that our tea gardens are huge in size and the
management administers the gardens with the air of British Shahib and
Zamindars. The use of grant areas for tea with 45% actually used for production
of tea is another key concern. Land granted for tea cultivation but used for
other commercial purposes is deemed unjust and an incentive for social
injustice perpetrated on the tea plantation workers.
The most striking fact about tea production in Bangladesh is that after
the partition of India most of the tea produced here used to be consumed by
West Pakistan. After Independence, Pakistan remains to be the largest importer
of Bangladeshi tea. However, now it is we who consume most 
of the tea that we produce. In 2007
Bangladesh produced 57.9 million kgs of tea of which only 10.6 million kgs were
exported [82% of which was taken by Pakistan]. There is an apprehension that if
the production of tea does not increase significantly and if domestic
consumption continues to grow fast, Bangladesh will soon become an importer of
tea. The bottom line is tea is no more an important export commodity and
Bangladesh plays no significant role in the global tea trade although it ranked
10th among the tea-producing countries in 2007.
The work condition of the tea workers
who spend most of their working time under the scorching sun or getting soaked
in rains is a concern. A woman tealeaf picker spends almost all her working
hours for 30 to 35 years standing before she retires. The working hours for the
tealeaf pickers, mostly women, are usually from 8 AM to 5 PM [7-8 hours
excluding break for lunch] from Monday to Saturday. Sunday is the weekly
holiday. To earn some extra cash, the extra work brings additional grief.
The wages -- daily or monthly -- is
the single most concern. The maximum daily cash pay for the daily rated worker
in 2008 was Taka 32.50 (less than half a US$). This is a miserable pay having a
severe effect on the daily lives of the tea workers. Although the workers get
rations at a concession, a family can hardly have decent food items on their
plate. They indeed have very poor quality and protein-deficient meals. Their
physical appearance tells of their malnourishment. Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union
(BCSU) that represents the workers and Bangladesh Tea Association (BTA) that
represents the employers sign a memorandum of agreement every two years to fix
the wages. The last memorandum of agreement went into effect on 1 September
2005. The two-year period of effectiveness of the agreement ended on 31 August
2007 [during the state of emergency in the country]. It was due to the state of
emergency and squabbles between rival groups in Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union
that no agreement between the two parties was signed in due time. However, in
the absence of any agreement, the owners increased wages by Taka 2.5 as an
interim arrangement. What is important to note here is that BCSU in its charter of demands placed to the
owners have demanded increase of wages by up to 100%, but the owners increased
it by Taka 2 every two years, which the BCSU accepted in the end. The newly
elected leadership (in 2008) of the BCSU, in its charter of demands of 2009, demanded that the cash pay of the daily rated
workers be increased to Tk.90.00 from Tk.32.50. It is yet to be seen how the
employers respond to the demands of BCSU.
Fringe benefits other than houses
include some allowances, attendance incentive, rations, access to khet land for
production of crop (those accessing such land have their rations slashed),
medical care, provident fund, pension, etc. BTA calculates the cumulative total
daily wage of a worker at Tk.73. The newly elected leaders in BCSU have a
different calculation, which is lower than that of BTA.
For a long time, The Tea Plantations Labor
Ordinance, 1962 and The Tea Plantation Labor Rules, 1977 defined the welfare
measures of the tea plantation workers among other things. In 2006 these laws
along with other labor related laws (25 in total) were annulled and a new labor
law, Bangladesh Labor Act 2006, was introduced. The tea plantation workers were
brought under this Act. The new Act has fixed the minimum wages of industrial
workers at Tk.
1,500 (US$22). The tea plantation
workers, who got lower wages in cash than this minimum wages, raised their
voices for an increased cash pay. They were turned down. In a letter dated 20
July 2008 the Deputy Director of Labor, Tea-industry Labor Welfare Department
in Srimangal, Maulvibazar announced, "the minimum wages announced in the
gazette was not for the workers in the tea gardens." The letter also
mentioned that "the government has already formed a separate wage board to
determine the wages for the tea workers and the issue of minimum wages is under
consideration." It is yet to be seen how the wage board makes progress in
its work.
If compared with wages of the Indian
tea workers, the wages of Bangladeshi tea plantation workers is much lower. In
Darjeeling, Terai and Doars of West Bengal in India the daily wages of a tea
plantation worker was Rs.53.90 in 2008. The wages, increased in three steps,
will reportedly become Rs.67 in 2011. Strong labor movements have been
instrumental in such wage increase. In West Bengal about 400,000 workers will
get this increased wages. Compared to the Bangladeshi tea plantation workers,
the Indian workers also get a better deal in accessing fringe benefits such as
rations, medical care, housing, education, provident fund benefits, bonus, and
gratuity. What puzzles one is that the auction of prices of tea in Bangladesh
is high compared to the international auction prices while its production cost
is comparatively lower than other tea producing countries (India, Sri Lanka and
Kenya for example). Of course the productivity of tea per unit in Bangladesh is
lower compared to those countries. Many believe that there is no justification
for low wages of the tea plantation workers in Bangladesh. They deserve much
higher wages.
Bangladesh ranks tenth among the ten largest tea-producing
and exporting countries in the world. In the year 2000, the country’s tea
production was 1.80% of the 2,939.91 million kg produced worldwide.
Owners of tea gardens include both foreign and local
companies. While four Sterling companies own 27 estate, Bangladeshi companies
and individuals own the rest of the tea gardens. The four foreign companies are
James Finlay, Duncan Brothers, Deundi Tea Company and The New Sylhet Tea
Estate.
All the 163 tea estates are managed by five different
categories of management:
(i) Sterling companies
(ii) National Tea company
(iii) Bangladesh Tea Board
(iv) Bangladeshi Private Limited Companies
(v) Bangladeshi Proprietors
The estates are categorized into three according to their
production capacities. They are:
1.
Category A: All the ‘A’ category estates that have
the highest productivity belong to the British companies (fully or partially).
2.
Category B: The Bangladeshi government, Bangladeshi
tea companies or Bangladeshi individuals own this category of estates.
3.
Category C: The family owned small and low
productive estates belong to this category. Wages and working conditions are at
their worst in the tea estates under this category.
Tea
garden classification (based on producing tea)
|
Class
|
Producing Tea (per year)
|
|
A
|
More than 250000 kg
|
|
B
|
100000-250000 kg
|
|
C
|
50000-100000 kg
|
|
U
|
Less than 50000 kg
|
The
promotion and degradation may occur in tea estates in span of one or two
decades. Labor wages also vary between classified gardens.
The
Social, Economic and export condition of Bangladesh tea and Tea workers in the
background of all literature is given below
Social Condition:
·
Housing:
The labors are occupying huge land for their housing in a unplanned way. The
labor housing may be done in a convenient place in a limited area by providing
all basic needs like water supply, electric supply, health care, sanitation,
schooling etc. Most of the houses are built by soil.
·
Religion:
Tea garden workers majority belong to Hindu community.
·
Language:
As the origin of labourers are from different part of India like Orrissa, Tamil
Nadu, Hazaribagh, Ranchi and various part of Bangladesh, so the language they
used are mixed.
·
Education:
Most of the workers are illiterate. But now a days illiterate rate is getting
low. As some of the NGO like Brac, Karitaj have taken the responsibility to
educate them.
·
Gender discrimination:
One can see gender equation is generously practiced in tea estates. All tea
workers enjoy liberty in selecting their trade union of their own choice. A
good number of female trade unionist from tea garden labor union are found in
the negotiating table bargaining with their counterpart BD tea association to
increase wages and facilities of tea garden workers.
·
Anti-social
activities: The non-workers group does not have any
specific source of income. They mostly engage in crime and anti-social
activities such as making and selling liquors, cutting shade trees, grazing
cattle inside tea garden, making chaos and trouble inside the garden.
Economic Condition:
·
Tea estate is a labor
oriented agro-based industry, where for each acre of land on an average one
worker is engaged.
·
Out of 1000 labor
force, at least 900 laborers are working in the field which is called tillah
and the rest hardly 100 laborers are working in a factory.
·
The tea garden workers
need to work mutually agreed 8 hours from 8 a.m to 3 p.m. They can do extra
work as over time task.
·
The permanent workers
must pluck up 23 kg tea leaves in a day to put his/her name in registered book.
In that way one can earn 69 taka.
·
One can earn extra
income after plucking 23 kg leaves of tea. That extra income is calculated as
5taka/kg
·
Wages of tea garden
workers is tk 30 per head.
·
Apart from wages they
receive 3.5 kg wheat per worker per week at concession rate.
·
They receive 21 days
sick leave with pay per year and female workers get maternity leave for four
months with pay.
·
Tea garden workers
enjoy consecutive 3 days leave on each occasion of Durga puja and Dol purnima.
They receive total 1200 taka as festival bonus.
·
The casual laborers do
not get the same facilities as permanent workers get. Casual laborers may turn
into permanent workers after 9 months by showing sincerity, punctual,
hardworking and deviation to his/her work.
Human
resources in the tea industry:
|
|
Men
|
Women
|
Adolescent
|
Total
|
|
Registered laborer
|
37565
|
38090
|
12054
|
87709
|
|
Casual laborer
|
9865
|
10826
|
975
|
21666
|
|
Population
|
117303
|
117303
|
|
350314
|
Land use pattern of tea
garden in Bangladesh:
Total
grant area : 114044 ha
Total tea area : 52202 ha (45%)
Area not under tea : 61842 ha (55%)
Total tea area : 52202 ha (45%)
Area not under tea : 61842 ha (55%)
a) Rubber
: 5559 ha
b) Planted
forest
: 1436 ha
c) Natural
forest
: 16846 ha
d) Bamboo
: 4129 ha
e) Thatch/Sun
grass
: 3300 ha
f) Paddy
land
: 12718 ha
g) Other
cash crop
: 1448 ha
h) Fallow/wasteland
: 5888 ha
i)
Stream/drain/pond
etc
: 2853 ha
j)
Infrastructure
(bungalow, labor line, factory, road) :
8516 ha
k) Graveyard/crematorium
etc
: 1204 ha
Area
suitable for tea : 11462 ha
Management and
performance of BD tea:
163 tea estates in bd are managed by different five categories of management viz:
163 tea estates in bd are managed by different five categories of management viz:
1.
Sterling Company
2.
National Tea Company
3.
Bangladesh Tea Board
4.
Proprietary/Ownership
by Bangladeshi Nationals
5.
Private Company Ltd.
|
SI
|
Type of management
|
No of estate
|
|
1
|
Sterling Co.
|
27
|
|
2
|
National Tea Co.
|
13
|
|
3
|
Bangladesh Tea Board
|
3
|
|
4
|
Private Co. Ltd
|
53
|
|
5
|
Proprietary
|
66
|
|
6
|
|
|
CHAPTER 3
BACKGROUND
The
art of tea cultivation in Bangladesh began over a century and a half ago in the
1840s near the Chittagong Club. The first tea garden to be established was
Malnicherra in Sylhet in 1854.Its commercial production began shortly
thereafter in 1857.Today, the main tea-growing areas lie to the east of the
Ganga-Jumma flood plain in the hill areas bordering India's Cachar tea-growing
district. Most of Bangladesh tea grows at only 80-300 ft. above sea level
northeast of Sylhet in the Seven Valleys. Tea is still grown in Chittagong’s
well as in the Hill Tracts. During pre-partition days and up to the year 1947,
all teas produced in the Sylhet and Surmahvalleys were called Indian teas, but
were also known as sweet liquoring Surmah valley teas. Crop figures for the
region during the mid-1940s were approximately 10-15 million kg per year. The
teas were all of Orthodox manufacture, their quality being fairly similar to that of neighboring
Cachar district teas. There was also some Legg-Cut and green tea manufacture
prior to 1947
3.1 Post-Partition 1947-1971
After
partition, the subcontinent was broadly divided into two political regions -
India and Pakistan (comprising West and East Pakistan).When Pakistan became
independent in 1947, there were 133 tea gardens. By 1971, this number had risen
to 147, with roughly 90,000 workers out of a total country population of
249,000 people. In 1950, under the Pakistan Tea Act, the Pakistan Tea Board was
established in Dhaka and in1957; the Tea Research Institute was founded in
Srimangal in 1957. Together, these organizations aimed at promoting the sale
and consumption of tea in Pakistan and abroad, and at assisting in the research
and development of the tea industry. The Tea Ordinance Act of 1959 replaced the
earlier Pakistan Tea Act of 1950 to enhance the Board’s role in promoting tea
cultivation and quality control. During the 1952-1953 seasons, buyers, sellers,
and brokers in Chittagong got together, under the auspices of the Pakistan Tea
Association, to form the Tea Traders Association of Chittagong. This
association's duty was to promote the common interests of tea sellers and
buyers in the Chittagong market. In 1960, the Tea Traders Association of
Pakistan was registered. However, by the late 1960s, the need for better
quality teas was strong and, with the gradual decline in the availability of
Orthodox teas, CTC teas, particularly the better liquoring types, received
strong support. It was noticeable during this period that the consumer
gradually demanded brighter and better teas, and at the same time, became
partial to the strong liquor produced by the CTC and the Legg-Cut methods of
manufacture. Until 1971, teas continued to be imported to meet the growing
internal demand while production was inadequate. With export restrictions and
the captive market of West Pakistan, the tea industry operated in a seller's
market with the 1969 crop being sold in the Chittagong auctions at Rs 3.50 per
lb., against the CIF Chittagong cost of imported tea at Rs 1.50 per lb.
3.2 The 1971 War of Liberation
During
the War of Liberation in 1971, the tea industry suffered many setbacks. In
addition to the fact that many factories were damaged, two-thirds of the
experienced planters of British and Pakistan origin left the industry, whilst
many senior Bangladeshi planters joined the war. This meant that inexperienced
men who had to combat disturbed conditions were running the estates. Some of
the battles even took place in the tea garden areas, which were very near the
borders. In fact, for the first time after the crackdown on April 4, 1971, the
available senior offices of the Eastern Sector of the Liberation War met at
Teliapara Tea estate manager’s bungalow, which became a seat of the Bangladesh
Forces Headquarters (BDFHQ) for quite a time. In 1947, gardens in East Pakistan
had 75,000 acres (30,364 hectares) under tea. Between 1947and 1960, the acreage
devoted to tea increased by 8,000 acres. In the following decade, thanks to the
compulsory 3% extension plan undertaken by the government. In 1947, Pakistan
began with a production of 41.5 million lbs. (19.0 million kg) -
approximately7% of India's production. In 1956, this figure reached 53 million
lbs. (24.1 million kg), and in1971, a record crop of 69.18 million lbs. was
harvested.
3.3 After 1971
After
the war, assistance from England was readily available. At the request of the
Government of Bangladesh, the British agency Overseas Development
Administration (ODA) commissioned the Commonwealth Development Corporation
(CDC) in 1973 to assess the requirements for a process of rehabilitation and
reorganization of the tea industry, including tea growing, manufacture,
research, markets and market organization, with an assessment of the financial
and economic returns to such a program. In addition, in 1976 the
government-sponsored Dastard Committee, which looked into the financial
constraints of a number of estates, also submitted its recommendations that
proved to be very effective. In 1977, the Bangladesh Tea Board was
reconstituted with objectives common to those of the erstwhile Pakistan Tea
Board formed under the Pakistan Tea Act 1950, and as the regulatory body for
the tea industry of Bangladesh, the role of the Tea Board expanded to include
the monitoring of the crop and its disposal, the issuance of export licenses to
export buyers, and the authority to give permission to producers for
consignment and direct sales, etc. In 1974, the Tea Traders Association of
Bangladesh replaced the Tea Traders Association of Pakistan. Eight years later,
the metric weight system was adopted for the sale of tea, replacing the earlier
imperial system. The area that produced tea increased from around 43,000
hectares in 1971 to the present area of about 48,000 hectares. After 1971, an
improvement in yield per hectare was also evident. Based on the findings and
recommendations by the March 1973 Rab Report that aimed to maximize production,
subsequent studies was carried out. By the 1973-74 season, the production of
Bangladesh tea recovered to pre-1971 levels of around 30-32 million kg. During
1975-76, in an attempt to increase yields, the Tea Board prepared two plans for
intensive cultivation and replanting. Bangladesh Tea Research Institute BTRI, the
scientific wing of the Tea Board, also brought out several high yielding clonal
varieties of distinct character and quality. By 1979, British consultants had
developed a strategy to rehabilitate the damaged tea industry of Bangladesh.
Although by this time an onward program for intensive cultivation and
replanting of the tea was going on, the actual thrust started in 1983-84 and
was effective from 1985/85.During the years 1971-1994, production increased
from 24.2 million kg (53.2 million lbs.) in1972 to 52.1 million kg (115 million
lb) in 1994.Although the number of estates manufacturing Orthodox teas was
declining (especially after the1980s), after independence, Orthodox teas
continued to form the bulk of all teas produced. During this period, CTC teas became
increasingly popular in Bangladesh with both internal and external buyers
because they produced stronger and quicker brewing liquor with more cup page.
Today in Bangladesh, CTC teas account for virtually 99% of all categories of
tea produced, the balance being green teas.
The
quality of Bangladesh teas competing in the world market during this period may
be comparable to lower plain-grown teas from nearby Cachar, Tripura, and the
Dooars, as well as with low, more plain-tasting teas from Sri Lanka and Indonesia
Table:
Tea History of Bangladesh
3.4 TEA SCENARIO OF THE WORLD
The global
demand for hot beverage (Tea and Coffee) will be forecasted as 69.77 billion
USD in value and 10.57 million tons in volume in terms by the year 2015 (GTA,
2011). As tea cultivation is confined only to certain specific regions of the
world due to specific requirements of climate and soil, the majority of tea
cultivation is located in China, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. in Asia
region and Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda in African tropical
region. Apart from this regions some
quantities of tea are also being produced in South America (Argentina, Brazil
and others), the Near East (Iran and Turkey) and the CIS (Russia and Georgia).
The annual tea
production in 2010 of the world is estimated approximately as 4066596 thousand
kg where the cultivation area was 3691938 ha. Over these years the production
of tea increased and area expand according to increase of demand. Among all tea
producing countries China, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Indonesia, These five
countries Account for 77% of the world production and 80% global exports.
In 1991 the tea
producing area of the world was 2561.75 ha which increased about .42% during
that period. Again in 2001 the area under tea was 2727.42 thousand ha which
increased to 3691.89 thousand ha in 2010 with a compound growth rate of 3.42%
during the said period.
According to
2011 statistics on world tea production the top most tea producing country is
China which produce about 1640310 tons of tea, The other countries in the top
ten list of producing tea are India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Vietnam, Iran,
Indonesia, Argentina and Belcher’s Sea Snake.
Table showing
area of tea producing and production of tea:
|
Country
|
Area(
million ha)
|
Production
(Tons)
|
|
China
|
1.86
|
1640310
|
|
India
|
1
|
966733
|
|
Kenya
|
1.57
|
377912
|
|
Sri
Lanka
|
1.88
|
327500
|
|
Turkey
|
1.87
|
221600
|
|
Vietnam
|
1.33
|
206600
|
|
Iran
|
-
|
162510
|
|
Indonesia
|
-
|
142400
|
|
Argentina
|
-
|
95012
|
|
Belcher’s
Sea Snake
|
-
|
95012
|
CHAPTER 4
TEA PLANTATION
Growing a
strong crop is one of the most important parts on tea production. Plants that
are well taken Care of are more resistant to diseases. Raising a crop is like raising children: if
you give your crop good food and water, your crop will be less likely to get
sick.
As a child
grows, his or her needs change. The same
is true for tea: the needs of the tea crop change as the tea grows from
seedlings to commercial stageto ageing stage.
For that reason, the sections of this chapter are arranged according to
the crop stage, starting with seedlings. At the same time as managing the tea
crop, the farmer should manage the other plants in theTea.
4.1Tea Cultivation
Weather
4.1.1 Rainfall
The average
annual rainfall in North East India ranges from 2000-4000 mm. However, more
than the total amount, the distribution of rainfall matters a lot for sustained
high yield of tea throughout the season. In the North East India, the rainfall
distribution is not even. The excess rainfall in the monsoon months of
June-September causes drainage problems. The average monthly rainfall during
November to March is less than the evapotranspiration loss and the resulting
soil moisture deficit affects tea bushes. If
this dry spell persists for a longer period, tea plants suffer heavily
and crop goes down in spite of having sufficient rainfall in the monsoons.
4.1.2 Temperature and RH
Temperature
affects tea yield by influencing rate of photosynthesis and controlling growth
and dormancy. In general, the ambient temperature within 13°C and 28-32°C is
conducive for growth of tea. Maximum ambient temperature above 32°C is
unfavorable for optimum photosynthesis more so if it is accompanied by low
humidity. In the tea belts of this region, the average winter minimum
temperature (Dec-Feb) remains below 12°C and there is hardly any growth during
this period. Flushing commences from March with the rise in temperature. Winter
dormancy however is the result of interaction of short day length and low
temperature. Low temperature causes slower growth and low yield in the hill
district of Darjeeling in comparison to the plains of Dooars and Assam. A humid
climate and high RH favors growth of tea.
4.1.2 Day length
Day length
influences growth and dormancy in tea bushes. When days of less than 11hr 15
min duration last for at least six weeks tea bushes become dormant. Hence the
length of growing season decreases with increasing distance from the equator.
Seasonal dormancy appears from around 18° North and South latitudes. In the
Northeast India (25°-27°N latitude), the tea bushes remain dormant during the
winter season for about 3 months on account of the combined effects of short
days and low temperature.
4.1.3 Soil
Tea grows well
on high land well drained soils having a good depth, acidic pH in the range 4.5
to 5.5 and more than 2% organic matter. Shallow and compacted sub-soils limit
root growth. Tea plants growing on such soils are liable to suffer from draught
during dry period and water logging during the rainy months. There should not
be any hard pan or concretions in the subsoil within 2m depths. The depth of
ground water table should not be less than 90 cm for good growth of tea.
Catchment planning is required for improved soil and water management practices
in a tea estate for which land survey designed to identify all major and minor
topographical features needs to be carried out.
4.2Managing the seedling stage
4.2.1 Mulching
The seed and
the young seedlings must be carefully protected against weeds and drought. One of the best ways to manage weeds and
water is to mulch the field. Mulching simply means covering the surface of the
soil with any available plant material: straw, cut grass, tree leaves, ferns,
water hyacinth, rice hulls, leaves from green-manure crops, etc. Whatever plant material is used should be
harvested before it has produced seeds. If the mulch contains seeds, they may
sprout after the mulch is placed in the tea field, producing weeds that will
have to be controlled. Like any practice, mulching has disadvantages as well as
advantages Shade trees or green manure plants between rows like mulching, shade
trees help control weeds and increase soil moisture. Long in height trees and
temporary cover crops between the rows of tea. This gives proper shading and
keeps the soil moisture which is needed for planting trees.
4.2.2 Weed management
The combination
of mulched cover crops will control many weeds.
But during the seedling stage, the tea crop must be carefully protected
from weeds. A circle with a radius of approximately 20 cm around the stem of
the bush should be kept completely clear of weeds. Weeding should be carried
out often, to58 ensure that weeds do not produce seeds and do not grow large
enough to compete with the tea plants. If tea seeds are planted directly into
the field, the young seedlings must be carefully protected from weeds until
they grow to a height of at least 50 cm.
After this, normal weeding should be adequate.
4.2.3 Water management
The combination
of mulched shade trees will help manage soil moisture. But in times of drought, it may be necessary
to water (irrigate) the tea seedlings.
Seeds and seedlings are very sensitive to drought. Watering is more suitable for households that
are located near a water source, and for households that have electricity.
Nonetheless, even poorer households far from water sources should consider
watering during the seedling stage.
4.2.4 Fertilizer, manure, and compost
Composts a
dark, crumbly, spongy material produced by decomposition of organic material.
Examples of
organic materials that can be composted are:
teapruning, weeds, kitchen waste, green manure leaves and other plant
parts, rice straw, animal dung, etc. The composting process normally takes a
few months. Compost, farm yard manure (animal manure and urine, sometimes mixed
with the straw from the stable), and chemical fertilizer all provide nutrients
(like nitrogen) that the young tea plants need. Each has its advantages and
disadvantages. The main advantage of manure and composite that they provide
organic matter for the soil
Organic matter
improves soil structure, water infiltration, and the growth of helpful
organisms in the soil. Chemical fertilizer does not provide any organic matter.
The main advantage of chemical fertilizers that it has a high nutrient content
(for example, almost half the weight of urea is nitrogen, whereas buffalo
manure has only about 2% nitrogen). So,
you only need to apply kilograms of chemical fertilizer per hectare instead of
tons per hectare of manure or compost.
For this reason, chemical fertilizer is easy to transport and
apply. But the disadvantage is, chemical
fertilizer does not provide any organic matter to your soil.
4.3 Amount of fertilizer
4.3.1 Manure and compost
Apply as much
manure and composites possible (10-20 tons or more per hectare is desirable).
In practice,
the amount will depend on your supply and on how much labor you have
available. For most farmers, both animal
manure and compost are available only in small amounts. Further, both are heavy, and therefore
requiring a lot of labor to carry uphill and apply. Chemical fertilizer during
this edging stage, plants need less chemical fertilizer than in later growth
stages. To decide on the amount of
chemical fertilizers, use the following three steps:
1. Choose a
rate of nitrogen for the seedling stage, most books recommend between 30 -120
kilograms of nitrogen per hectare (for example, this is equivalent to between
65 – 261 kilograms of urea per hectare, because only 46% of urea is nitrogen).
But, the exact amount to apply will depend on how fertile your soil is (use
less nitrogen if your soil is very fertile).
To get some idea about fertility, ask your neighbors how much nitrogen
fertilizer they used, and how much tea yield they got in return. But remember: the soil on your farm might be
more (or less) fertile than your neighbors’ soil. Consider doing an experiment to test several
different rates.
2. Once you
have chosen a rate for nitrogen, use about half that rate for phosphorous and
potassium. For example, if you plan to apply 60 kilograms of nitrogen per
hectare (equivalent to 130 kg urea), then you should apply about 30 kg of
phosphorous and 30 kg of potassium per hectare.
But as for nitrogen, the exact amounts of phosphorous and potassium will
depend on your soil fertility and your finances. As for nitrogen, consider
doing an experiment to test several different rates.
3. Once you
have chosen the rates for the nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium),
calculate how much fertilizer you will need to supply these rates. The amount
of fertilizer to apply will always behigher than the rate of the nutrient,
because fertilizers contain other things in addition to the nutrient (in other
words, fertilizers are never 100% pure).
Different fertilizers have different concentrations. Always check the
label of the fertilizer to see how concentrated it is. Here are some typical
concentrations for some common fertilizers:
Nitrogen fertilizers Concentration
• Urea 46%
nitrogen
• Ammonium
nitrate 35% nitrogen
• Ammonium
sulphate 21% nitrogen
• Phosphorous
fertilizers Concentration
• Apatite or
appetite 15-35% phosphorous
• Simple
superphosphate 15-18% phosphorous
• Triple
superphosphate 44-50% phosphorous
•
Potassium fertilizers Concentration
• Potassium
sulphate 48-50% potassium
• Potassium
chloride 50-60% potassium
4.4 Managing the branch formation stage
4.4.1 Mulching
Mulching is
important for the branch formation stage.
If you do not have enough mulch to protect the soil, consider planting
green manureplants between rows, or permitting useful weeds
4.4.2 Green manure plants between rows
Until the
leaves of neighboring tea bushes are touching, there has to plant temporary
plants in the middle of the rows for cover up the little tea tress
During the
branch formation stage, there has to plant some permanent shade treeswithin the
rows of tea to provide shade and greenmanure once the tea reaches the
commercial stage
4.4.3 Weed management
The combination
of mulched cover crops will control many weeds.
During the branch formation stage, tea plants are less susceptible to
weeds than during the seedling stage.
Nonetheless, in
Viet Nam many hectares of tea in branch formation stage have been ruined in
recent years by being overgrown by weeds.
As always, the goal of the farmer should be to maintain an ecological
balance that recognizes both the good and bad effects of weeds:
4.4.4 Pruning
During branch
formation stage, the purpose of pruning is to shape the way that the main frame
of large branches are growing, so that the bush becomes:
Low (within
reach of pickers); the plucking table should be at a height of about 70 cm
broad, with many strong, healthy branches large canopy capable of producing
many shoots.
Pruning is not
recommended during Year 1. Nonetheless,
if a young plant is very thin and spindly during Year 1, it is sometimes useful
to fold over the tip of the young plant without breaking it off. This
concentrates the energy of the plant in the lower part of the plant, helping it
to grow thicker and stronger and preventing it from falling over.
The first
pruning is done when the diameter of the main stem is more than 0.7 cm, and
theheight of the plant is more than 70 cm.
For tea grown
from seeds, a total of three
annualpruning are needed to shape the frame of the bush (see drawing). The first pruning, or cutting back of the
central stem, is done at a height of 12-15 cm from the ground, usually at the end of Year 2 or beginning of Year 3
(mid-December to January). In this first pruning, cut only the central
stem. Do not cut the branches even if
the tips of the branches are growing higher than 15 cm above the ground.
The second
pruning, 12 months later, is done at a height of 30-35 cm. The third pruning,
12 months after the second, is done at 40-45 cm. Pruning is always done in
December-January.
In tea grown
from cuttings, the side stems grow more than on tea grown from seeds. Also, tea grown from cuttings tends to have
more stems and bigger stems. For both of
these reasons, only 2 formative pruning are needed.
Again, the
first pruning is done when the diameter of the main stem is at least 0.7 cm and
the height of the plant is at least 70 cm.
This first pruning is usually done at the end of Year 1 or the beginning
of Year 2 (mid-December to January). In the first pruning, cut the main stem 25
cm above the ground and the other stems at a height of 40 cm above the
ground. The second pruning is done one
year later, at a height of 45 cm above the ground.
4.4.5 Pruning time
At least during
branch formation stage, the best time for pruning is from mid-December to
January. Once the tea reaches commercial stage, however, some farmers prune
after Tet.
Before doing
the first pruning (at the end of Year 2), you should check to make sure that
the young bushes have stored enough energy (starch) in their roots. They will need a good store of energy to
recover from pruning. To check, apply
iodine solution to the cut end of roots and watch for a color change. You can buy iodine solution in pharmacies (it
is used for disinfecting cuts). When
iodine touches starch, the starch turns blue (try it with rice grains as a
test; rice grains contain starch). To check whether young plants are ready for
pruning:
1. Dig a whole 10 cm from the stem of the young
tea plant and 15 cm deep.
2. Cut off and save any large roots that are
exposed by the whole (use only roots that are at least half a centimeter in
diameter).
3. Make smooth cuts across the ends of the roots
and hold the roots vertically.
4. Apply a drop or two of iodine solution to the
end of each root. Hold the roots vertically for
5 minutes, then
shake off the iodine.
5. Note how
much blue color is produced. A deep blue
color spread across the entire cut surface of the root indicates a high
concentration of starch, and therefore the plants will have enough energy to
recover from pruning. If the root is
very pale or does not change color, they have not yet accumulated much starch,
and therefore you might want to delay the first pruning.
4.4.6 Pruning Process
All pruning are
done using a pruning knife (long blade and short handle) or secateurs
(Clippers). Secateurs can have short
blades to cut small branches (used with one hand) or longblades for big
branches (used with two hands). If you
use secateurs, be sure they are sharp; if dull, they will crush the stem and
slow the growth of the tea plant. It is
best to “polish” the cuts with a sharp knife so that water cannot stick to the
cut surface (if the cut stays wet, it is more likely to get diseases).
Always cut
branches from the inside to the outside, forming a wound at an angle of 45°to
allow any water to drain (high side of each wound facing outwards on the
bush). When the high sides of the cut
branches are on the outside, then the new shoots also will grow towards the
outside of the plants, creating a bigger plucking surface.
The tops of the
bushes should be cut parallel with the slope of the hill. If you don’t do that,
then the part of the tea bush at the higher end of the slope will develop
moreslowly than the part at the lower end (less new leaves and shoots will
develop on the higher end). There is
only one small exception to the rule of pruningparallel to the slope. That is,
it is sometimes also recommended to prune the center of each bush a little bit
more than the outside, creating a “hollow” shape of the bush. The reason is,
the center of the tea plant always grows faster than the outside.
To reduce sun
scorch damage, cover the frame of the bush with the branches and leaves removed
during pruning. If the tea has fungus diseases, or if the bush frame is heavily
overgrown with lichens or algae, it is helpful to wash the frame with lime or
caustic soda mixed with water.
4.4.7 Purposes of pruning
During the
commercial stage, the purposes of pruning are:
1. To encourage tea trees to grow plenty of new
leaves, instead of shifting into reproductive growth stage (producing flowers
and fruits).
2. To increase the number and size of growing
buds.
3. To keep the frame of the tea bush within easy
reaches of the pickers.
4. To replace old and diseased branches with
strong, healthy ones.
The tools and
procedures for pruning are the same as were discussed in branch formation
stage (above).
4.4.8 How often should you prune?
Note that, once
the tea has reached commercial stage, the schedule for pruning is the same for
bushes grown from seeds or from cuttings.
Most farmers in
Viet Nam prune every year. But, farmers
in other countries follow different systems. The following is the
recommendation of the Tea Research Institute
4.4.9 Light pruning
Year 4: The final formation pruning (to shape the
main frame of large branches).
Prune the bush
40-45 cm above the ground.
Years 5 and 6:
At the end of each year (mid-December-February), cut only the green wood. Cut at a height 5 cm above the height of the
previous pruning. For example, if at the
end of Year 4 you pruned to 40 cm, then in Year 5 you should prune to 45 cm and
in Year 6 to 50 cm. Each year, you
should also prune any branches at the base of the main stem.
Years 7-11: At
the end of each year, cut the green wood 3 cm higher than the previous year
(for example, 53 cm, then 56 cm, etc.). Each year, you should also prune any
branches at the base of the main stem. When the frame of the tea bush reaches a
height of 70 cm (approximately Year 12),
prune only 1-2 cm higher each year.
After years of
this light annual pruning, you will start to notice the following problems:
1. Tea bushes have grown so tall that they
are out of reach of the pickers (studies have shown that, for pickers who are
1,3 meters tall, the most efficient tipping height is 80 cm above the ground).
2. Crown buds are abundant, but are very
small.
3. Tea yields are declining.
When this
occurs, tea should be given a medium pruning.
4.4.10 Medium pruning
Prune the tea
tree 55-60 cm above the ground. Some
major branches should be cut to stimulate dormant buds to produce new branches
for a healthier and younger canopy.
Especially,
branches that are dead, diseased, or crossing should be removed. The following years, return to light pruning.
4.4.11 Heavy pruning
After many
years of light and medium pruning, tea often becomes somewhat degraded and
weak. Tea branches have many bends and
kinks (are not straight), and there are a number of rotten buds. When this occurs, tea should be pruned heavily
40-45 cm above the ground.
After heavy
pruning, tea must be carefully tended until it recovers. Even with good tending, yields often drop for
1-2 years after heavy pruning. Once
bushes recover, return to light pruning.
4.4.12 Plucking
Do not pluck
during year 1. During year 2, tea still
needs leaves to produce energy to grow branches. Therefore, only do light plucking and only
pluck during the flushing period, when the tea is growing rapidly (usually
June-September). Avoid early and heavy plucking.
In the spring
of year 3, after the first pruning, plucking must not start until the tea plant
has grown enough shoots and leaves to restock its reserves of energy. Therefore, wait until new shoots have grown
20-30 cm above the level of pruning (usually by early April). This is called
the “tipping level” (see drawing). Then,
use your fingers to break off the new shoots at the tipping level. This is
called “tipping”, and it has 2 purposes:
1. To create a flat canopy (called the “plucking
table”) parallel to the slope, and
2. To cause the buds on the sides of the shoots
to open, so the bush will grow many more shoots (branches and sub-branches will
grow from the sides of the tipped shoots).
After tipping,
any shoots that grow above the “plucking table” can be lightly plucked. You probably will not harvest many buds
during year 3, but your labor costs for tipping will be rewarded by higher
yield in future years.
In year 4,
after the second pruning, again follow the directions for tipping. The tea should then enter the commercial
stage if it has received good care.
4.4.13 Purpose of plucking
The main
purpose of plucking is to harvest the tea.
But in addition, plucking can affect the long-term health of the tea
plant, and can help with insect and disease management.
Therefore, when
farmers do experiments to decide which plucking method is best, they should
measure plant health and pest damage, not just tea yield and quality.
4.4.14 When to pluck: time of year
Plucking must
not start until the tea plant has grown enough shoots and leaves to restock its
reserves of energy. After every pruning
(December-February), a layer of leaves is allowed to grow 20-30 cm above the
level of pruning. Therefore, wait until new shoots have grown 20-30 cm above
the level of pruning (usually by early April).
This is called the “tipping level”. Then, use your fingers to break off
the new shoots at the tipping level. This is called “tipping”, and it has two
purposes:
1. To create a flat canopy (called the “plucking
table”) parallel to the slope, and
2. To cause the buds on the sides of the shoots
to open, so the bush will grow many more shoots (branches and sub-branches will
grow from the sides of the tipped shoots).
After tipping,
any shoots that grow above the “plucking table” can be lightly plucked. Shoots
should be plucked during the “flushing period” (when the tea plant is growing
actively). In general, the flushing period is during spring and summer, with
highest yields from June September. But the exact timing of the flushing period
is different for different tea varieties. Before and after the flushing period,
the tea plant is dormant (sleeping). Plucking during the months when the tea is
dormant is an extra strain on the tea plant. Nonetheless, some farmers believe
that if the crop is well cared for, tea can tolerate plucking even during the
dormant period.
4.4.15 When to pluck: time of day and type of weather
Plucking should
be done in the morning, for two reasons.
First, and most important, plucking in the morning leaves enough time so
that the plucked tea can be processed the same day (in the afternoon). If plucked tea is kept overnight before
processing, the quality will be much lower(see Chapter Thirteen). A second (less important) reason is that the
quality (flavor) of tea is highest from shoots harvested in the morning,
because the chemical quality of the shoots is higher in the morning (less
soluble sugars and more catechinsin the morning).
Shoots grow
fastest and produce energy for the plant most efficiently from about 8:00 a.m.
to about 11:00 a.m. Therefore, tea production would be a bit higher if plucking
started late in the morning, instead of starting in the early hours. But, this may not be possible due to labor
demands.
Do not pluck on
rainy days; the wet tea takes too long to dry during processing, which reduces
quality.
4.4.16 what to pluck:
Pluck only
shoots that are growing above the flat canopy (“plucking table”). Pluck two kindsof shoots:
1. Actively growing shoots that have at least 2
true foliage leaves above the rounded “fish leaf”. Never pluck immature shoots
(buds, or buds + 1 leaf) (see drawing).
2. In addition to actively growing shoots,
“blind” buds should be plucked if they are growing above the tipping
level. These are dormant buds at the top
of shoots that are not producing new leaves (see drawing). Plucking these buds encourages the buds on
the sides of the shoot to open and produce new shoots.
4.4.17 How many times to pluck:
There are two
popular systems for plucking. One system
is to pluck only once every 45 days, harvesting most of the buds. The second system is to pluck as soon as
about 30% of the buds are ready for harvest (in other words, pluck about every
10-15 days). Each system has its
advantages and disadvantages, as shown in the table below. So, farmers should do experiments to decide
which system is best for them.
Chapter 5
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
CHARACTER
OF TEA WORKERS
SYLHET,
BANGLADESH
The knowledge
of socio-economic character of tea worker is important for increasing the
efficiency of tea workers. This chapter will focus on the important socio
economic conditions and some demographic characters of tea workers in tea
plantation. There are some factors which influence income, production,
employment and some factors that influence health, fertility, mortality, and
sanitation, housing different attitude of gender, food and medicine etc. The
social and cultural belief also influences the efficiency of tea workers, which
influence the total production. This chapter will help to understand all these
conditions of Sylhet tea gardens and will help to frame the way to increase
productivity of Bangladesh tea Industry.
5.1 Age, Male Female Ratio
Most of the
people working in the tea garden are adult, age between 35 to 50+. Tough there
are some teen age children specially girls working in the garden, the amount is
negligible. At the starting of working period people start working in the
garden and after some day they go to the city for more money and when they find
the life outside the garden is more challenging they get back to the garden.
Working in the tea garden is almost like a family trend for the tea workers.
They know how to work in the garden from their family. SO they start with what
is in their blood.
|
Age of
respondents
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
<20
|
6
|
2.15
|
|
20-24
|
19
|
6.81
|
|
25-29
|
30
|
10.75
|
|
30-34
|
26
|
9.32
|
|
35-39
|
40
|
14.34
|
|
40-44
|
39
|
13.98
|
|
45-49
|
44
|
15.77
|
|
>50
|
75
|
26.88
|
Though
everybody guesses the percentage of Female workers in the garden is higher than
Male workers the research shows the amount of male workers is higher than
female workers. The ratio between male and female workers in the garden is
54.84% and 45.16%. Though the amount of Male workers is high they are not
directly involved with the garden. Male workers mainly work as Day laborer,
Factory workers for tea processing, Guards, Electrician, Pruner, Peon, Water
supplier, Garden Cleaner. On the other hand female workers are directly
involved with the tea garden by collecting tea leaf, tea cultivation and processing.
|
Gender
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Male
|
153
|
54.84
|
|
Female
|
126
|
45.16
|
5.2 Size and Family Composition
The study shows that the family size of the tea workers is large as they
have at least 2-3 children and they live with their old father, mothers and
brothers. Most of the family is male dominated and the percentage of women is
comparably high.
5.3 Education Level of Tea Workers
The Study shows
60% of the tea workers are totally illiterate who never gone school or other
education institutes, even they don’t know how to write their name. The other
40% includes workers having knowledge about Bengali alphabets who can write
their name, read a little and some who completed their Primary school.
A study on
Sylhet tea garden shoes the literacy was found to be higher at Madhupur tea
states and was lower at Dauracherra tea estate. The study revealed that the
level of the tea workers was fairly high as compared to Maulvibazar district.
The study showed that the literacy rate among the tea workers in tea plantation
economy do not vary far from national trend,
Though the tea
workers are not literate now some of them are trying to make there children
literate by sending them primary and secondary schools. Now Tea estate owners
are giving the worker children’s the opportunity to study free they till
primary school. Some meritorious children are also going to the secondary
schools by the help of some GOs and NGOs. BRAC and Karitaj are the two NGOs
that took responsibility to educate the tea garden workers children by opening
school and providing all instruments needed for studying.
5.4 Efficiency of the Tea Garden workers
Tea garden
workers in Sylhet are very efficient as they are working from their childhood.
They do not need any trainer to teach them how to collect tea leaf or how to
manage the garden work. As they are working for long years they can collect
leaf very fast and this also give then the opportunity to earn some extra
money. People of Sylhet tea garden can collect more than 23 kg leaf per day.
Though the
Sylhet tea workers are seems to be efficient, they are not comparable to the
tea workers of other countries. The efficiency of china, Indian and other
country are more than Bangladesh. This is not because lake of experience or
competence but the soil quality, modern techniques and other facilities.
5.5 Working Position
There is no
difference between positions of tea workers. Most of the people working in the
tea garden are leaf collector. Others are working as labor, guards,
electricians, factory workers, peon, pruner, water suppliers, garden cleaner
etc. There are almost 47% leaf collector, 22% workers, 19% are labor, 2%
factory workers are directly involved with tea production and other 10% are
indirectly involved with the garden by working for garden owners.
Table
3: Position of the tea garden owners.
|
Position
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Labor
|
53
|
19.00
|
|
Worker
|
62
|
22.22
|
|
Leaf
Collector
|
131
|
46.95
|
|
Guard
|
14
|
5.02
|
|
Electrician
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Company's
Primary School Teacher
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Pruner
|
5
|
1.79
|
|
Factory
worker
|
6
|
2.15
|
|
Peon
|
3
|
1.08
|
|
Water
Supplier
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Garden
Cleaner
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Nurse
|
1
|
0.36
|
Figure 4: Workers in Different Sectors of Sylhet Tea
Garden
5.6 District of Origin
Tea people working in different tea estates of Sylhet are mainly local
origin. About 75% of the workers are Sylhet and Moulovibazaar origin. The other
25% came from other district of the
|
District
of origin
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Assam
|
3
|
1.08
|
|
Barisal
|
5
|
1.79
|
|
Brahmanbaria
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Chadpur
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Chatlapur
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Chittagong
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Comilla
|
10
|
3.58
|
|
Habiganj
|
5
|
1.79
|
|
India
|
15
|
5.38
|
|
Kolkata
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Moulovibazaar
|
67
|
24.01
|
|
Mymensingh
|
12
|
4.30
|
|
Orissa
|
1
|
0.36
|
|
Pakistan
|
2
|
0.72
|
|
Sylhet
|
152
|
54.48
|
|
Tripura
|
2
|
0.72
|
country and some are from India, Assam, Tripuram Kolkata, Orisissa and
living in the tea garden area. Before the division of India Pakistan and
Independence of Bangladesh Immigrant people entered into the country for search
of job and started living here.
Table 5 District of
Origin
5.7 Size and Type of housing of the Tea Workers
The analysis of sizes of the land holding and type of housing is very
important. Though the house area and all materials used in making house are
provided by the owner of the garden, it gives the economic condition of the
workers. A study on socio economic condition of tea workers shows that “the
average size of the total owned land per family was .30 acre. It was observed
that the average cultivated land per household was .21 acre. Total owned land
was found higher at Dauracherra tea estate and lower at Julekhanagar tea
estate. The study examined that net cultivated land was found higher ar
sterling as well as nationalized companies compared with property estates.”
Almost 100% of the house of the workers are not their own. They generally
live in the house given by individual tea estates. Most of the houses are made
of mud, Paddy and bamboo straws. Some others have tin shades and a little are
made of brick which are semi pucca. about 60% houses are katcha and 38% are
semi pucca and only 2.5% are pucca.
|
House type/Structure
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Pucca
|
7
|
2.51
|
|
Semi-pucca
|
107
|
38.35
|
|
Katcha
|
165
|
59.14
|
|
Others
|
0
|
0.00
|
Table 6 Housing type
of Sylhet tea garden Workers
5.8 Various
social benefits recovered by the employees
Tea workers of Sylhet and all over Bangladesh get
some benefits with their monthly salary provided by the owners. After small
wage these benefits are the only source that gives them the way to lead there
life. Workers get some festival bonus, Health insurance, expanses, Rations,
Pensions, Food, free primary education facility for the children of the
workers.
The registered workers get 1200-1600 TAKA of
festival bonus in two installments a year. Muslim workers get bonus in Edul Fitter,
Edul ajha and Hindu workers get bonus in Durga puja and
Dol purnima.
Tea workers get wheat, rice as ration. They get 3 kg
of wheat or rice for him and his children under 12 years of old. The ration is
given in week wise mainly in Tuesday or Thursday.
The owners also provide health facility to the
workers. There are at least one medical, clinics or hospitals made by the
owners. Hospitals give almost all kinds of medicines for primary diseases. It
also provides all medical facilities for injuries happened in the garden. If
the disease is savvier and doctors of the garden are not able to immune them
they refer the patient to the government clinic and give all the money needed
in the hospital.
The owners of the garden also give primary education
facility to the children of the garden. There are at least one primary school
in each garden and owners of the garden motivate the workers for sending their
children to the school.
The registered women workers get pregnancy leave
from the sixth months of the pregnancy.
They also get monthly salary, medical facility, ration during these
days. All workers of the garden also gets 21 day leave in a year.
Again the registered retired workers of the garden
get pension facility monthly. They get pension, Ration and Medical facility as
like the present workers.
|
Additional benefits
|
Frequency (f)
|
Percentage (%)
|
|
Festival bonus
|
278
|
36.68
|
|
Health insurance/Expenses
|
222
|
29.29
|
|
Food/Accomodation
|
237
|
31.27
|
|
Others
|
16
|
2.11
|
|
i_Pensions
|
1
|
0.13
|
|
ii_Ration
|
3
|
0.40
|
|
iii_Free education
|
1
|
0.13
|
|
Total
|
758
|
100.00
|
5.9 Sanitary facilities and Drinking Water
The principal source of drinking water of the house stokes are Tube well,
Surface well and a less amount of pipe water. Workers use tube well water for
their daily drinking, cooking and use pond, well water for other works. The
Tube well is provided by the garden owner and every family has at least one
tube well.
There are very few number of families who have sanitary facilities. There
may be only 40% families have sanitary latrine. People does not care about
latrine because they have lake of knowledge about sanitary and they are near
jungle which make the need of latrine less for them. Now some NGOs giving them
knowledge about latrine and also providing them the facility of making the
latrine in their home which is increasing the numbers of latrine.
5.10 Drugs and Drinking Problem
Almost all tea workers are addicted to drinking and drugs problems. They
drink cigarettes weeds and Bangla mod every day. As these things are available
and price is low compare to the income of the workers and there is lake of
reses or entertainment workers pass their free time by taking these drinks and
drugs. Workers waste most of their money in buying these drugs and drinks which
congeal to improve their present condition by saving money and developing their
future. Sometime owners influence the workers to take these things as it will
increase their domination on the workers.
5.11 GOs and NGOs for tea workers
Now days there are many GOs and NGOs who are working for the tea workers
development. They are providing free teaching, Sanitation, banking, medical
facilities, advises on family plannings.. BRAC, Karitaj, pata kuri etc are some
NGOs. NGOs making their office, schools, medical centers and providing
facilities. They are giving education to the children as well as the adult
peoples. Some time they are organizing meeting and giving lectures for immune
there social problems.
5.12. Relation between Tea Workers and Management
The owners need hard administration for maintaining discipline of the tea
garden but they also need to be soft on the problems of the workers. Almost all
tea garden owners follow this rules and if they are not able to do this they
gets into Sevier problem.
The relation of the tea worker and management are good told by almost all
workers of the garden. Without some small problems there are good owner and
worker relation. If there are any problem, workers can tell this to the manager
and he try to solve it in a small time.
5.13 Labor Union for Tea Workers
There are labor
union in every garden which is originated for saying labors problems, needs and
demands to the managements. But most of the labor unions are not working as
they should or closed because of political problems. Again those who are active
are corrupted and indirectly managed by the owners of the garden.
Chapter 6
Economic Condition of Tea Workers
Sylhet Bangladesh
6.1 Wage
The wage of tea workers is not satisfactory. This is less than one dollar
per day which is not change till 2010. Now a day’s tea workers get 69 taka for
collecting 22 kg of tea leaf. This is also same for the workers working in the
factory. Workers also get some extra money if they are able to collect more
leaf after 22 kg. They get 3-5 taka per kg after collecting 22 kg. Workers have
to work at least 8 hours a day for collecting that amount of leaf. Workers can
also earn more money by working in two shifts. Morning shift starts fron 5 a.m
in the morning till 3 p.m and night shift starts from 8 p.m till 5 a.m in the
morning. Leaf collectors, factory workers, guards and other workers working for
tea garden are mostly work in morning shift. Mainly factory workers and guards
work in the night shift.
Table 7 Wage
Development of Sylhet Tea Workers
6.2 Additional benefits with salary
Tea workers get many additional benefits after their
salary. They can earn more money by working both morning and day shifts. Though
it is hard to work in both shifts it gives them double money. They can also income
more money if they are able to pluck more than 23 kg tea leaves in a day. They
get 5 taka more for each kg after 23rd kg.
Registered tea workers get yearly bonus twice in a
year in festivals. Muslim workers get bonus in Edul fitar and Edul ajha and
Hindu or other religious workers get bonus in Durga puja and
Dol purnima. Workers get bonus on the basis of their efficiency. More efficient
workers get more bonuses. The festival bonus is 1200-1600 taka per head in a
year.
6.3 Respondents satisfaction level on their income
The study has
an important part which asked the workers about their satisfaction in the
income. Most of the workers said that the wage, bonus and extra income that
they get are not satisfactory. But some said with all the benefits that they
get after the wage they are satisfied and a few said that the income is more
than enough. About 81% of the respondents said that the salary is not
satisfactory, 17.5% said they are satisfied with what they get and only 1% said
they get more than enough from the owners of the garden. The statistical report
is given below_
|
Level
of satisfaction
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Not
satisfactory at all
|
227
|
81.36
|
|
Satisfactory
|
49
|
17.56
|
|
More
than enough
|
3
|
1.08
|
Table 8 Wage
satisfaction of Sylhet
7.1 Employees' perceptions on social issues related to tea
gardening
The study reckoned the
social issues related to the tea garden. It asked the workers about the
problems they faced and see in the garden area. It discovered the main problem
in the garden and it is crime or terrorism. In evening or at night the workers
snatched by some thief’s and robbers. The analysis also shows that the rate of
robbing of house is also a matter of concern. The other problems told by the
workers are education problem, Fresh water and sanitary problem, oppression,
drug problem, alcoholism, gender discrimination, child labor, harassment,
destruction of local agriculture.
|
Social
issues
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Crime/Terrorism
|
21
|
40.38
|
|
Education
problem
|
5
|
9.62
|
|
Fresh
water and Sanitary problem
|
2
|
3.85
|
|
Oppression
|
4
|
7.69
|
|
Drug
addiction
|
5
|
9.62
|
|
Alcoholism
|
3
|
5.77
|
|
Gender
discrimination
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Violence
against women
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Child
labor
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Lack of
independence
|
2
|
3.85
|
|
Local
conflicts
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Lack of
social status
|
2
|
3.85
|
|
Harassment
|
3
|
5.77
|
|
Destruction
of Local agriculture
|
1
|
1.92
|
7.2 Environmental issues related to tea plantation
The environmental
issues related to tea plantation are also finding out by the study. It shows
that tea plantation is a cause of massive soil erosion and land slide. As tea
plantation is practicing in this area for a long time it is causing a serious
damage of soil quality of the garden area and hampering local agriculture. Use
of fertilizers, pesticides are causing soil, water pollution and degrading
biodiversity. The chart shows the environmental issues related to the
plantation.
|
Environmental issues
|
Frequency (f)
|
Percentage (%)
|
|
Causes soil erosion
|
82
|
53.95
|
|
Loss of vegetation/trees
|
21
|
13.82
|
|
Hampers local agriculture
|
46
|
30.26
|
|
Others
|
0
|
0.00
|
|
i_Water pollution
|
1
|
0.66
|
|
ii_Landslide
|
2
|
1.32
|
Table 9 Environmental
issues related to Sylhet tea garden
7.3 Problems faced by the employees in the tea gardens
The main problem faced
by the found by the study is the wage problem. Without this the other problems
in the garden is the hard working stuffs that is nearly 25%, risks due to
insects and snakes 11.39%, insecurity of job is about 6%, exploitation
about3.93% and others like sanitation problem, child bearing problem, skin
problem, skin problem due to fertilizer use, food scarcity, Inflation, water
storage problem, lack of independence, help from owner and government is less
than 1%. The following table shows the problems faced by the employees in the
tea garden.
|
Social
issues
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Crime/Terrorism
|
21
|
40.38
|
|
Education
problem
|
5
|
9.62
|
|
Fresh
water and Sanitary problem
|
2
|
3.85
|
|
Opression
|
4
|
7.69
|
|
Drug
addiction
|
5
|
9.62
|
|
Alcoholism
|
3
|
5.77
|
|
Gender
discrimination
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Violence
against women
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Child
labor
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Lack of
independence
|
2
|
3.85
|
|
Local
conflicts
|
1
|
1.92
|
|
Lack of
social status
|
2
|
3.85
|
|
Harassment
|
3
|
5.77
|
|
Destruction
of Local agriculture
|
1
|
1.92
|
7.4 Accidents during working in the garden
The study shows cutting hand is one of the common accident during work in
the garden. Snake bite, Insect bite and accidents done by the manufacturing
machine is other accidents happens in the garden. The following table shows the
percentage of the problems in the garden.
|
Type of
accidents
|
Frequency
(f)
|
Percentage
(%)
|
|
Hand
cut
|
40
|
61.54
|
|
Snake bite
|
21
|
32.31
|
|
Insect
bite
|
3
|
4.62
|
|
By
Manufacturing Machine
|
1
|
1.54
|
CHAPTER 8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The
study examines the socio- economic condition of the tea workers and found the
present condition of the Sylhet tea workers. It also compared the present
scenario to the past situation of the tea gardens. The salient features of this
study is summarized below
1. The
male female ratio of the tea workers is 54.84% and 45.16% which indicates the
female workers are less than male workers. It also indicates the women workers
are not interested in working in the garden like previous.
2. Most
of the people in the garden interested in working are old in age about 26.88.
Most youth people are not interested in working in tea garden.
3. The
average size of the family of the tea garden are small which is good.
4. The
wage of 69 tk for plucking 23 kg is very small and it is the main cause of lake
of interest in working in tea garden.
5. The
overtime money is also very low and festival bonus about 1200 take is not
satisfactory.
6. The
house of the workers does not have electricity, sanitary latrine, fresh
drinking water and they are made of tin, bamboo straws and rice straws which
causing problem for the workers as rainfall in the Sylhet tea garden is highest
compare to other of the country.
7. Most
of the house in the garden are katcha about 59.14%, 38.35% houses are semi
pucca and only 2.51% hoises are pakka.
8. The
social condition of the tea workers is another matter of concern. Gender
discrimination, Education level below 20%, Drug addiction 90%, snatching, lake
of drinking water and sanitary facility are the main problems in the tea
garden.
9. The
education level of the tea garden is below 90%.
10. Some
NGOs like BRAC, Karitas are working for developing the awareness of the tea
workers.
11. Tea
workers are very efficient and not satisfied with what they get from the garden
owners.
12. There
is no division in workers position and the number of leaf packer is highest
about 46%.
13. The
migration rate in the garden is low. People working in the garden are mainly
originated hare.
14. Registered
workers get many benefits with their wage. About 36.68% gets Festival bonus,
29.29% and almost everybody gets ration, free education for children, pension
and accommodation provided by the owner.
15. Crime
rate in the garden area is high about 40% people are snached.
16. Hand
cutting during work, snake bite and insect bite are the main accidents. About
61.54% people get cut their hens during work, 32.31% and 1.54% were bitten by
snake and insects.
Though
having all these problems Tea industry in Bangladesh has a bright part as it is
meeting needs of internal people of the country. No matter how it is causing
some job facilities and giving some foreign money to the country which is a
good sign for the Sylhet tea gardens.
CHAPTER 9
CONCLUTION AND RECOMONDATION
Tea garden in Sylhet is wealth for
Bangladesh tea industry. It produces the most amount of tea produced in
Bangladesh. As tea workers are the main factor behind all these they should be
treated more sensibly and wisely. Their needs should be fulfilled and only this
will make more people interested in working in tea garden. Again the gardens
should be more modernized, facilities, security and environmental condition of
the garden should be improved.
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