ILAM: Tea harvesting has begun in Ilam’s Suryodaya Municipality, a fertile area known for its tea production.
Jagannath Adhikari of Suryodaya-1 Makarjung has been busy cutting tea from morning till evening.
“Since the cutting started after the buds appeared, it will continue like this throughout the month. Everyone is busy, and there aren’t enough harvesters,” said Adhikari.
“When pruning is done at this time, the new sprouts that emerge will thrive. The first plucking typically happens in the Nepali month of Chaitra.”
Farmers believe that tea production will increase if they focus on proper planting, fertilization, irrigation, and pruning.
“Farmers should pay attention from planting to harvesting to improve the quality of the tea,” said Ganesh Bhattarai of Suryodaya-7 Gogane.
“If the cutting is poorly done, it can reduce tea production. Proper pruning is essential for quality.”
Tea cutting requires technical expertise and skill. There are good employment opportunities for those with these skills.
Last year, Ilam farmers received tea harvesting training with the support of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board, said Rabin Rai, general secretary of the Central Tea Cooperative Association.
According to him, the training has produced skilled workers in the field.
Suryodaya Municipality is running a campaign to produce organic tea after facing difficulties in selling Nepali tea in countries like India, primarily due to poor tea pruning and harvesting methods.
Suryodaya, which established a minimum support price for tea six years ago, is now running programs to encourage farmers to improve quality and increase exports to the global market, said Mayor Rana Bahadur Rai.
“Earlier, when India bought our tea, it was tested for CFL, but now it is tested for Fasa. This makes it harder for our tea to be sold easily in India. If the tea is not organic, it cannot be sold. Understanding this, farmers need to produce pesticide-free, high-quality tea,” Mayor Rai added.
To improve tea harvesting, the municipality has distributed handheld tea harvesting machines to 300 farmers this year.
“The minimum support price will be implemented once harvesting improves. Around 300 hand-held tea harvesting machines have been distributed,” he said.
“The newly established Tea Testing and Research Center, designed to ‘brand’ Nepali tea and conduct tests, is also operational.”
The municipality’s slogan is “Prosperity of Suryodaya Municipality, Organic Agriculture, Ecotourism, and Economic Equality.”
The municipality aims to achieve economic prosperity through tea. While Suryodaya has been working hard to improve quality, pesticide use in tea production remains a challenge.
“There is no market for tea farming because the produce is contaminated with pesticides. Farmers cannot professionalize. We must address the impact of pesticides on human health,” said Mayor Rai.
However, there are no subsidy programs to encourage farmers to switch to organic farming.
“Even offering a subsidy of one rupee per kilogram of tea, a crucial source of income for over 80% of farmers, would require an investment of millions of rupees. The problems of farmers cannot be solved by local government efforts alone. The lack of investment from provincial and federal governments is hindering the improvement of tea farming,” said farmer Chhabilal Poudel.
Industrialists are calling for support to promote the international branding of Nepali tea and subsidies for small farmers based on green leaf production, similar to the support given to sugarcane growers.
Industrialist Uday Chapagain expressed frustration, saying the government is reluctant to provide subsidies for tea, as it does for other agricultural sectors.
Of the 5.5 million kilograms of orthodox tea produced in Nepal, only 300,000 kg is organic.
Suryodaya Municipality is home to more than 62 tea processing industries, with 52 affiliated with the Suryodaya Tea Association.
Green tea leaves from around 3,000 farmers are processed here. The green leaves produced not only by Suryodaya Municipality but also by farmers from Maijogmai, Rong, and other regions are processed in these industries.
The tea produced is exported to third countries, including India.
Tea cultivation in Nepal spans 12,066 hectares, with Ilam being the country’s largest tea-producing district.
There are 6,995 gardens in Ilam, and across the country, 108 million kg of green leaves are produced from 11,041 gardens.
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