Chapter-In

CHAPTER-III

GENEALOGY OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS

There seems to an apparent contradiction between 'Plantations' and 'Small

Tea Plantations', it is so because plantation in general and tea plantation in
particular have always been associated with large estates along with the following
other characteristics:
1. Most of the tea plantations emerged during the financial phase of
capitalism and in India the first tea plantation started after 1840.
2. These 'plantations' were started by the foreign entrepreneurs particularly
the British.
3. The workforce was brought by the planters through forced migration
mostly tribal from Central India.
4. These plantations were capital intensive and highly mechanized, and
5. Most of the plantations functioned like enclaves having minimum
interaction with the immediate surrounding areas and communities.
As opposed to these. the Small Tea Plantations are of recent origin. In India
these emerged only after 1960s in South India and in the late 1980s and early
1990s in the North-East India. Moreover. most of the Small Tea Plantations are
small in size i.e. below 25 acres and owned and managed by individual family
owners. Consequently, these farms have no factory or processing units of their
own hence. they depend upon the Bought-Leaf-Factories for processing, price of
the green leaves and the finished product.
In the backdrop of these dissimilarities it is imperative to study the
genealogy of the Small Tea Plantations because these factors have serious
implication upon the growth and future of the growers as well as the Small Tea
Plantations.
For many the Small Tea Plantations may sound as a new type of economic
activity in India, but it has roots date back to late I8U• century in Indonesia.
Perhaps this is the first country which initiated the Small Tea Plantations in the
world and from there it spread to other parts of the world and today it is emerging

71
as one of the alternative units of production for varied reasons in various
countries.
I
SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN THE WORLD
The emergence of Small Tea Plantations in various countries have different
story in terms of management, regulatory measures relating to their farm product
and marketing etc. to mention only a few. The government policies and plans for
the growth and smooth running of the smallholder farms vary from one country to
other. In the following section experiences of the leading small-tea growing
countries or the world such as Kenya. Sri Lanka. Indonesia. and Nepal have been
analysed to get a comparative picture.
1. SMALLHOLDER TEA PRODUCTION IN KENYA:
After the Mau Maul Emergency in 1959, the Kenya govemment decided to
expand tea production through the use of smallholders, even though at that time
it was questionable whether smallholders could handle the complexities of tea
production. The Mau Mau Emergency interrupted the experimentation with
smallholder tea production, which was started in 1953 on 40 acres. By 1959,
there were about 6000 smallholders growing tea on 2281 acres. the demand from
other smallholders to grow tea was high2. Moreover, the quality of tea produced by
the smallholders compared favourably with the leaf grown on estates.
Consequently, the Ministry of Agriculture Government of Kenya, identified the
need to develop small tea plantations under planned plantations. To begin with,
special provisions were made to establish a processing factory with full
government support along with the development of small tea plantations. The
Kenyan govemment responded by setting up a working committee in 1959, which

1 Very little was known of the Kenyan hinterland before the arrival of the British who came
and colonized Kenya in 19•h century. The colonization process was met with resistance and
it was countered with excessive force. Hence, most of Kenya's modem history is marked by
rebellions against the British, with the first one being in 1890 and the last one known as
Mau Mau rebellion in 1952. Attacks by Mau Mau fi~hters on white settlers In Kenya
threw colonial society into panic and British imposed a state of emergency in 1952. The
outbreak of the Mau Mau paved the way for constitutional reforms and development in
subsequent years. In 1955, a myriad of political were formed all over the country after the
colonial Government yielded to their fonnation. Elections were held in March 1957. after
which racial barriers in the Government began to be lifted.
2 Kenya Tea Development Authority. 1976: Strategiesfor Small Fanners Development

(An Empirical Study of Rural Development Projects), Vol. II, Case Studies.
Development Alternatives. West-view Press. USA, p. 140

72
recomm<..nded the establishment of an authority with tight control over tea
development. The authority was established in 1960 as the Special Crops
Development Authority (SCDA). with tea as its initial responsibility. Later on it was
planned that the authority would also assist in the development of other
smallholder in the production of a few other cash crops3. In 1964, SCDA was
replaced by the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) with an exclusive
responsibility for the development of tea. In addition to this, the govemment also
made provisions for comprehensive infrastructure development related to the tea
industry. Encouraged by the performance, Foreign donors were tempted to invest
in KTDA's smallholder tea project. Over the years (1960-73) the Commonwealth
Development Corporation, the Intemational Development Association and the
West German govemment also made substantial loans available for field
operations (US$ 6.1 million) and road construction (US$ 3 million) 4 •
Since its inception in 1964. the smallholder tea sub-sector of KTDA
experienced phenomenal growth largely due to the harmonious combination of
improved production techniques, strict extension and supervision. Consequently.
the number of farmers increased from 19775 in 1964 to over 400.000 currently.
Acreage under tea too increased from 4 700 hectares in 1964 to 86000 hectares
during the same period. It is interesting to note that the average small-scale tea
farm size is about 0.4 hectare or equivalent to 1 acre in India. Production of green
leaf has risen from 2.8 million kg to over 720 million kg which is significantly
different from the 0.6 million kg to 181 million kg ·made tea' during 2001-02 for
the period. Similar~y. the number of BLFs has increased from one at the time of
inception to 53 in 2001. ~ut of this the KTDA contributes about 60 per cent of the
total tea produced in Kenya. Today. KTDA is the largest and also the most
successful smallholder tea organization in the world and has played a pioneering
role in putting Kenyan teas high on the world scene.
2. SMALLHOLDER TEA PRODUCTION IN SRI LANKA:
Small family operated tea holdings began to be developed in the inter-war
period and gradually increased in number particularly in the Low Country5 .

3 Ibid .• p. 140
4 Ibid., p. 138
5 In Sri Lanka, tea is grown from near sea level to over 2000 metres above mean sea level
in the three distinct elevational zones i.e. below 600 metres known as 'Low Country', 600-

73
Privately owned mini-estates were also developed which increased after the land
refom1 of 1972. As per the conditions of the reform, the land ceiling was limited to
personal ownership to 20 hectares (50 acres). which resulted into the breaking up
of the many large privately owned tea estates. Since then the pace of smallholder
development has accelerated significantly from 38 per cent of the total cultivated
area under tea in 1976 to about 44 per cent in 1999. The smallholder tea sector
extends over 83000 hectares of total area of 189000 hectare under tea. There are
206652 smallholders and the average farm size is 0.4 hectare. This sector is
primarily located in the Low Country with an altitude of less than 600 metres. The
smallholder tea sector produces over 164 million kg. which is over 58 per cent of
the total tea production in Sri LankaG.
Encouraged by the popularity of this new sector of the economy the
Govemment of Sri Lanka gave a formal recognition to this sector and established
the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority fi'SHDA) in 1978 to facilitate its
smooth functioning. Today, it is the nodal agency to implement and monitor the
smallholder programmes. The main thrust of the TSHDA is to face the challenges
in the 21 s• century, to enhance the quality of smallholder green leaf by way of
emphasizing not only the adoption of modem cultivation and harvesting
techniques but also in constructing leaf sheds. improvements in infrastructure to
facilitate the reaching of green leaf quickly to the factory in good condition. In Sri
Lanka the Smallholders' tea leaf is processed at factories owned by the plantation
companies known as Estate Factory. Tea Small Holders Factories Ud. Group.
CPFs and privately owned BLFs. According to one estin1ate around 50 per cent of
the green leafwas sold through the licensed dealers till 1995 followed by about 43
percent directly to the factories. However, the share of sale through licensed dealer
is declining over the years.
3. SMALLHOLDER TEA PRODUCTION IN INDONESIA:
As mentioned previously, Indonesia was the first country to initiate the
Small Tea Plantation. Here Smallholder planting of tea began in 1875 when the
manager of Sinagar and Parakan Salak estates in West Java distributed the

1200 metres as 'Mid Country', and above 1200 metres as 'High Country'. It is said that
tea cultivation in Sri Lanka started in the Mid Country. prospered in the High Country and
is now predominantly successful in the Low Country.
6 J.D. Singh. 2001: Small Holders' Contributions in Sri Lankan Tea. The Assam Review

and Tea News, Vol. 90 No. 2. p. 15 ·

74
seed1ing plant material to his foreman and servants to be )Jlanted in their
homeyards 7 • In 1880, Mr. A.B.B. Crone. manager of Cicurug Estate also
distributed plant material to the villagers in the surrounding area of his gardens to
be planted in their plots with the stipulation that the tea leaves should be sold to
his tea estate. The same is said to have been done in Garut by Mr. K.F. Holle, in
the area surrounding his Waspada tea estate. Since then. tea smallholder estates
have developed in West Java. In the beginning. the tea quality from smallholders
was not good. and the maintenance of their gardens was also poor. Therefore. they
needed some guidance by way of extension services and marketing. One of the
flrst organizations to provide guidance was the farmers' group of MITRA NU TANI
and MADU TAWON at Cibadak in West Javas.
In the flrst Five-year National Development Plan (PELITA) from 1969-70 to
1974-75 the Indonesian government declared that the development of tea
smallholders was essential to improve the welfare of the tea farmers. For the said
purpose. a government project was set up and financed by foreign aid under Unit
Pelaksana Project (UPP - The Project Executing Unit or PEU). The PEU was
organized at many locations and for many commodities. and was given different
names such as P3RSU for North Sumatera. PPCL in Lampung. P2TRSN for tea in
West Java9. At that time, tea growers enjoyed financial aid and guidance to
increase productivity. But, from 1974-75 to 1978-79 the purpose of tea
development was clear i.e. to improve the farmers' income and welfare. and
bettering their quality of life. The upgrading of human resources of tea farmers
was undertaken· in terms of training and equal working opportunity. This was
done by continuing the project P2TRSN. and other projects. such as local Nucleus
Tea Estate Project (PIR Lokal) and PRPTE (Rehabilitation and Extension of Export
Plan Project). The objective of maintaining the price of tea leaves according to the
quality of tea leaves supplied by farmers was in accordance with the pricing
formula suggested by the Research Institute for Tea and Cinchona. This became a
law by a decree of the government of Indonesia. During the period of third and
fourth Five-year National Development Plans ( 1978-79 to 1988-89) the
7 Z.S. Wimbowo and A. Dhannadi. 1999: Scientific Support to Smallholder Tea Growers of
Indonesia. Global Advances in Tea Science (edited by N.K. Jain). Aravalli Books
lntemational (P) Ltd .. New Delhi, p. 257
8 Ibid .• p. 257
9 Ibid .• p. 258

75
development of tea smallholders was even higher. due to the better tea price in the
international market. The government also built four CTC and orthodox factories
with a capacity of 40 tonnes tea leaves/day to process tea leaves from
smallholders. The government support was given in order to maintain a
guaranteed price for green leaves in the market. Tea fanners with an ownership of
less than 1 hectare were asked to form a Fanners· Association to be more
independent in order to obtain greater advantages. During the period of PELITA VI
(1994-95). the area with tea smallholders was 59.711 hectares with productivity
reaching 874 kg/ha. It was dis~ributed over not only West Java. but also Central
Java. East Java. West Sumatra. Jambi. South Sumatera. and South Sulawesi.
TABLE-3.1
AREA AND PRODUCTION OF TEA IN SMALLHOLDINGS IN INDONESIA
(During Plan-Periods)
Year Area [ha.] Production [tones]
1967 53.929 38.229
1972 34.612 11.947
1977 35.181 17.303
1982 45.414 16.511
1987 50.252 25.394
1992 53.040 31.834
1996 62.123 36.563
Source: W1mbowo and Dharmad1. 1999 10

4. SMALLHOLDER TEA PRODUCTION IN NEPAL:

It is a common experience that it is difficult to get objective and scientific
data on plantation, production and consumption of tea in Nepal. However.
scholars have made some conservative estimates and based on these the data
available, so far, one finds that the total area under tea is estimated at 12,365
hectares with annuaJ production of 7.5 million kg made tea in the year 2001-02
and the estimated domestic demand of tea for the same year is 10.18 million kg 11 .
Total area under tea cultivated by small holders is 4186 hectares, which is 33.85
per cent of totaJ area coverage of the industry (Table-3.2). The estimated
production in smallholdings is 1. 7 million kg that is 22 per cent of country's total
production. The average farm size is 0. 75 hectares in smallholdings and yield is
395 kg per hectares (Table-3.2). This indicates that the prospect of tea, which has
been successfully cultivated in Eastern Nepal, both in small and large farms.
10Ibid .• p. 259
11P. Gajmer. 2004: Tea in Nepal: Past and Present. The Assam Review and Tea News,
Vol. 92 No. 12. p. 17

76
appears very bright. According to one conservative estimate. thirty thousand
hectares of land suitable for tea cultivation is available for tea cultivation in four
hill districts: llam. Panchthar. Dhankuta. and Terathum of East NepaJI:l. Tea
cultivation which was limited in four hill districts and plains of Jhapa district
earlier is now spreading to other hill districts like Taplejeng. Sankhuwasabha.
Bhojpur, Khotang. Sindhuplanchowk, Nuwakot. Dolkha and Udayapur of East
Nepal and Gorkha, Lamjung and Kaski of mid-west Nepal.
TABLE-3.2
.
AREA PRODUCTION AND YIELD IN SMALLHOLDINGS IN NEPAL
Financial Number of Plantation Average Production Yield in
Year Small Area Farm Size of Made Tea kg
Farmers (In ha) (In ha) (In~ (Per Ha)
1998-99 2978 2050 0.68 418242 204
1999-00 4915 3239 0.65 1010499 311
2000-01 5310 3818 0.71 1548503 405
2001-02 5575 4186 0.75 1653855 395
Source: National Tea and Coffee Development Board. Nepal

The Small Tea Plantations are distributed over five districts of Ram. Jhapa.
Dhankuta. Panchthar and Terathum in east Nepal. Out of these only in Jhapa
district, tea is cultivated in plains. Therefore. there is a sharp difference in yield as
well as farm size among districts. The highest farm size and yield is found in the
plain Jhapa district i.e. 2.10 hectare and 600 kg per hectare (Table-3.3). In the
other four hill districts the average farm size is below one hectare. The yield in the
hill districts is less than fifty per cent of plain district and it is also lesser than the
national average of 395 kg per hectares in smallholdings. Out of the total number
of farmers. the highest numbers are concentrated in the district Jlam with 71.31
and the area coverage is 53.27 per cent of the total area under smallholdings in
Nepal.

12
P. Gajmer. 2004: Tea In Nepal: Past and Present. The Assam Review and Tea News,
Vol. 93 No. I. p. 16

77
 TABLE-3.3
DISTRICT-WISE AREA, PRODUCTION AND YIELD IN SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN
NEPAL
(2001-021
District Number of Plantation Average Production of Yield in
~mall Area Farm Size Made Tea kg
Farmers [In hal (In ha] [In kg] (Per ha]
Jhapa 695(12.46) 1466(35.02) 2.10 879630 600
llam 3976(71.31) 2230(53.27) 0.56 668288 299
Dhankuta 153(2.74) 48(1.14) 0.31 9628 200
Panchthar 632(11.33) 359(8.57) 0.56 77727 216
Terathum 159(2.85) 83(1.98) 0.52 18582 223
Total 5575(100.00) 4186(100.00) 0.75 1653855 395
Source: National Tea and Coffee Development Board, Nepal

II
SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN INDIA
As mentioned previously, the history of Small Tea Plantation is very recent
in India. However. despite the short span of time it too has two distinct types of
operations completely in tune with the international trends: these are the
unorganized and organized sectors. The Organised Sector is the result of a
planned development extending over one and half century started during the third
phase of colonial rule in India. Under colonialism it was developed to meet the
needs of the mother country. This developed into a situation where pressure on
land was low and tea plantation was a part of extensive agriculture. Since tea
industry is a labour-intensive one. certainly there was an absolute shortage of
manpower in the tea plantations. In order to meet the labour shortage. the
colonial administration resorted to the methods of induced-migration from the
tribal belts of Chotonagpur region of India to these plantations. Further more, to
accomplish this end the labourers were brought from the Chotonagpur region in
the tea estates and Homogeneous Valages were raised within the premises of the
estates. Unlike the traditional Indian villages these new settlements were marked
by their distinctive occupational structure. living style. income group, village
morphology. cultural landscape and work-schedule. etc. to mention only a few. A
new work culture that was imposed on the tribal engaged in the tea plantations
accelerated the process of acculturation and detribalization. Consequently, the
traditional hunting and gathering economy of the tribal gave way to the plantation
economy.

78
 Today. the situation is diametrically opposite of what it was under the
colonial rule and the unorganized sector of tea industry is an outcome of the
survival and sustainability of the thousands of unemployed youths in the
backward pockets of the country. This young battalion switches over to tea
cultivation from other agricultural crops to have better gain and security from the
market. Most of the farms are small and owned mostly by individual owners using
labour intensive production techniques. The size of workforce too is small in these
individual farms as compared to traditional estate gardens. Since. most of the
small plantations have been developed in the vicinity of the already existing
villages. so their interaction with the surrounding villages is more frequent than
what it used to be between the surrounding villages and estate farms. The villages
are Heterogeneous as these consist not only farm owners and their workers but
also there are other agricultural labourers. food crop cultivators. petty
businessman, schoolteachers. marginal-small-large farmers. and different socio-
religious groups. In other words these exist and flourish along with other
diversified activities. The cultural landscape too is entirely different from the
normal traditional tea estate villages. These villages can be better termed as
Pluralistic in their Culture. economy and other social attributes.
It is a matter of serious concem that though there are significant
differences between the large and the small tea plantations yet. very little has
come from the scholars about the small farms and most often they are treated
along with the large tea estates. It is reported in the literature that farmer-based
cultivation started in South India way back in 1960s but. the first attempt was
made by Sharit Bhowmik regarding the emergence of Small Tea Growers in India.
However. from various official reports and studies conducted by different
committees appointed by the govemment from time to time some information on
Small Tea Growers are available. Most of the reports suggest that the Small Tea
Plantations emerged in early 1960s in India and these were mainly concentrated
in south Indian states i.e. Tamil Nadu. Kerala and Kamataka. It is only in the late
1980s or early 1990s their spread was reported in the two leading tea-producing
states of North-Eastem India i.e. Assam and West Bengal. Today. as per the Tea
Board sources (2005). there are 126.256 Small Tea Growers with a collective
holding of 106,748 hectares land (Table-3.4). The estimated annual production is

79
180 million kg against the total production of 857 million kg tea in India. This is
around twenty-two per cent of the total tea production in India. The average farm
size 13 is apprmdmately 0.58 hectares and it is twice higher than that of Sri Lanka
and Kenya (as mentioned above). Moreover. the popularity of this sector can be
estimated by the fact that with in a span of less than 15 years here are as many as
514 BLFs and 24 CPFs in India located in different smallholding tea growing areas
in the country (Table-3.5). It should be mentioned here that the data do not
represent the ground realities as most of the Small Growers irrespective of
different regions in India do not register with the Tea Board of India. Moreover.
there are large variations between the data available with the Tea Board and the
data collected through the field survey from the different Small Grower
Associations particularly in the Islampur sub division. According to United Forum
of Small Tea Growers' Associations. North Bengal. there are around 130.000 Small
Tea Growers in India and their plantation area cover more than the Tea Board
data. It was also noticed during the field survey that most of the marginal-farmers
cum worker-growersl4 are not even involved (associated) with the Small Grower
Associations. These recent development of smallholder production units of tea
plantation may better be termed as Unorganised Sector of tea industry and the real
contribution of this small scale enterprise is more than what is shown with the
help of the data.
The tea industry's performance during the seventh plan ( 1985-90) shows
that this industry. which is exclusively controlled by tea companies owning large
plantations. has been unable to meet any of its growth targets. The rapid increase
in domestic consumption underlines the urgency for higher level of tea production.
The Tea Board has assessed that while in 1957 only 36.3 per cent of the total
production was consumed in the intemal market, this proportion increased to 67
per cent by 1987 (at present it is approximately 75 per cent). Moreover. till the end
of 1987. 44 per cent of the area under tea had bushes that had crossed the

13 It Is calculated on the basis of the total area under tea in hectares under Small Tea
Plantations in India divided by total number of Small Tea Growers in India reported by
different Small Growers' Organi.zations.
14
Margina!:farmer cum worker-grower are generally refers to the owner of those farms
which are fully operated by family members and there is no existenee of hired worker -
some of the members of such type of farms work as wage-workers in other tea fanns in the
nearby locality to supplement family income and enhance their sustainability.

80
economic age of 50 years. The industry has clearly shown no inclination to rectify
the situation i.e. only 6.3 per cent of the total area had new bushes less than five
years old. Considering the crisis in the industry, the Tea Board of India laid
emphasis on the promotion of Small Tea Growers in the Eight Draft Plan for Tea
Industry (1990-95). The Board estimated that about 40,000 hectares of additional
land (25,000 hectares in North Indian gardens and 15,000 hectares in South
Indian gardens) will be made available new tea plantationJs. It therefore proposed
to encourage landless labourers and unemployed youth to take up cultivation on
this land. It was also suggested that the new Small Tea Growers will be located in
the periphery of the large estates. This will enable them to have a tie-up
arrangement with the large estates for technical know-how and sale of green leaf.
In tum, the nucleus tea estate will adopt these Small Tea Growers and this
arrangement will continue for at least 10 years. The draft plan ostensibly makes
an attempt to create a core of Small Tea Growers to boost tea output. This was
primarily aimed at helping the crises ridden large estates by improving their
output without improving the total production. Moreover, it will also block the
ways of the Small Farms to emerge as independent producers. In fact, on close
examination, this scheme looks like another ruse to favour the large estates 16 •
These development added new dimensions to the growth of the Small Farms,
which had far reaching consequences such as casualisation of workers and
emergence of unorganized sector etc.
1. DEFINING THE UNORGANISED SECTOR OF TEA INDUSTRY:
It has been witnessed that new terms and conditions of work and
employment have emerged in the tea industry in recent years. There are
differences of opinion among planners and scholars about defining these new
trends. According to Central Statistical Organisation, all the unincorporated
enterprises and household industries (other than the organized ones) which are
not regulated by law and which do not maintain annual accounts or balance
sheets constitute the unorganized sectori7. This definition is of an administrative
nature, based on existing legal framework and omits a larger section of
15
S.K. Bhowmik, 1991: Small Growers to Prop up Large Plantations, Economic Political
Weekly. July 27. p. 1790
16 Ibid., p.1790
17 CSO, 1980, p. 135, cf. Ruddar Datt (ed.), 1997: Organising the Unorganised Workers.

Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd .• New Delhi. p. 31

81
unorganized self-employed labour. Economists by and large define the organized
sectors consisting of enterprises whose capital, commodity. and labour markets
are organized.
The employer-employee relations for the unorganized sector may be by and
large informal. They may not even have an appointment letter. Employment
relations are oral in nature. In some cases. contract of service may be camouflaged
as contract for services. The organized labour is distinguished by relatively regular
salaried employment. Majority of these workers may have well-defined terms and
conditions of employment with clear-cut rights and obligations. On the contrary,
the labour in the unorganized sector or marginalized workers in the organized
sector may be employed as casual or as contract labour with ill-defined employer-
employee relationship.
Ministry of Labour (1994)18 has outlined the following characteristics of
unorganized labour:
• Acute incidence of under-employment (often under-employed workers work for
more than one employer according to availability of jobs).
• Scattered nature of the work places (workers doing the same kind of jobs are in
different habitations and do not necessarily live together in compact geographical
areas).
• Incidence of home-based work.
• Lack of integration on account of all the above factors with consequent low
collective bargaining power,
• Low level of unionization (trade unions have serious difficulties in accessing
workers who are under-employed. scattered and home-based).
• Lack of concrete employer-employee relationship.

It is evident from the above that the small-scale sector of tea industry failed to
receive attention from the planners and policy makers. These units hardly have
regular accounts or balance sheets. These are marked by conspicuous absence of
planning for the betterment of the units, as these are cultivated like any other
agricultural crops. Moreover. these also lack scientific approach for the
management of the farms. These Farms are remotely located and fields are small
and scattered.
Since. there is a misconception runong Small Tea Growers that once they
receive 'no-objection certificate' (hereafter mentioned as NOC) from the Land
Reforms Department or register with the Tea Board of India, they will have to pay

18 Ministry of labour, 1994, p. 73 cf. Ruddar Datt (ed.). 1997: Organising the
Unorganised Workers. Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. p. 7

82
taxes and other expenses and follow regulatory measures so they prefer to operate
in traditional ways. This apprehension has led the Small Tea Growers to remain
absent from availing legal recognition. Labour relations are informal and
recruitments are unwritten or there is an absence of contract under which a
worker is absorbed. Inter-fann mobility of workers is a common phenomenon.
However, every production unit has some regular "base workforce' also known as
the threshold workforce. without which it is difficult to maintain a tea farm for
carrying operations like plucking green leaves. watering. manure and fertilizer
application. pruning. spraying medicines etc on routine basis.
It is only indicative of the fact that both the Small Tea Growers and their
workers requires some policy intervention for the smooth development of this
small-scale sector as both the groups are the victims of market forces. Meaning
thereby. neither the Small Tea Growers receive fair price for their product (green
leaO nor are they in a position to pay minimum agricultural wages to the workers.
All these conditions allow the growers as well as the workers to work in a state of
perpetual fear. insecurity and apprehension. Under such circumstances. this
small-scale sector can better be termed as UnorgWlised Sector of Tea Industry and
this still invites policy innovations for proper development and planning. It
becomes all the more necessary when looked at the pace of growth this sector has
attended against all kinds of odds.
2. EXTENT OF UNORGANISED SECTOR OF TEA INDUSTRY IN INDIA:
As shown on the map below (Figure-3.1). there are 15 states in India that
have Small Tea Plantations. An important feature that emerges from the map is
that the Small Tea Plantations have peripheral or remote locations. This is
perhaps the main reason behind persistent neglect and lack attention this sector
received so far. Moreover. intemal inconsistency in the nature of information too
has contributed their bit in making things difficult for this sector. There is a great
difference between the number of Small Tea Growers registered with Tea Board of
India and the number of Small Tea Growers reported by the respective Small
Grower Associations in different states in India. As per the available sources as
depicted in Table-3.4. only 56.77 per cent Small Tea Growers in India are

83
registered with Tea Board of India•9. At the regional level. the picture is more
depressing e.g. in North-East India there are only 12.39 per cent of the Small Tea
Growers registered with Board. It is 16.99 per cent in case of North India. In South
India, 90.84 per cent of the Small Tea Growers are registered with the Board and
the reason behind this is the longer existence of the farms in the states like Tamil
Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. while North India and North-East India these farms
are of recent origin. The rest of the Growers are incorporated with the local level
Small Grower Associations. Besides these two groups. there is a third group.
which is not attached even with Small Grower Associations. They cultivate tea in
their fields as well as employ themselves as wage-workers either in the
neighbouring tea farms or engage themselves with other activities locally available
much similar to the marginal-farmer-cum-worker-growers (discussed earlier).
Another problem with these growers is the estimation of their numbers. Their
presence is only found through their interaction with the Farias20 • This group is
fully dependent on Farias for selling their farm products.

19 This registration is a mandatory nonn formulated by the Tea Board of India before
planting tea and is applicable to any intended planter who wishes to cultivate tea on his
own land.
2 ° Farias are basically leaf agents in between BLFs and Small Growers. and the study are_a
this army of middlemen exploits the growers In one hand and deteriorates the quality of
green leaf by some manual adulteration. e.g. mixing water and other sand particles etc.

84
 TABLE-3.4
EXTENT AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN INDIA
(20051
Small Tea Growers [up to 10.12 hectares)
Number of Small Number of Small Area
States Tea Growers Tea Growers (In Ha]
[Registered with (Reported by Small
Tea Board] Growers'
Associations)
Assam 1852 42492 41249
Arunachal Pradesh 46 23 97
Manipur 427 316 381
Sikkim 3 73 127
Na_galand 1451 1105 1800
Me~halaya 38 12 36
Mizoram 269 43 88
Tlipura 1509 1068 1338
North-East India 5595 45132 45116
West Ben~al 479 8398 9500
Uttaranchal 0 71 449
Himachal Pradesh 3675 3675 1660
Bihar 154 980 1973
North India• 9903 58256 58698
Tamil Nadu 53111 61985 43157
Kera1a 2648 5999 4810
Kama taka 14 16 83
South India 61773 68000 48050
All India 71676 126256 106748
(.-.be total figure of North India includes the figures of North-East India)
Source: Unpublished data collected from Directorate of Tea Development. Tea Board of
India. Kolkata on 30.08.2005

It was mentioned previously that. these Small Tea Plantations do not have
their own tea processing units and they are exclusively dependent on large
estates. It was noticed that most often they received raw deal from the large tea
estates. Consequently, these small farms were compelled to fmd out a via media
for processing their green leaves. This led to the emergence of Bought-Leaf-
Factories (BLFs) and Co-operative Factories (CPFs) in India and their distribution
is given in Table-5. At present Tamil Nadu has highest number BLFs and CPFs
with 229 followed by Assam with 164 and West Bengal with 80 factories
respectively.

85
 Small Tea Plantations in India

'
~-

I
0

Legend -~
·t~
~ tl.umer of Small Tea Glowers
~ Area in Hectare&

Not to scale

Figure 3.1
 The most striking feature about the distribution of factories (BLFs and
CPFs) is that states like Tripura and West Bengal have no CPFs. This is interesting
because West Bengal and Tripura have been under the administration of left
parties for most of the time in the last three decades. It is indicative of the
govemment policy towards the development of Small Tea Growers. On contrary.
states like Tamil Nadu have 16 CPFs. though it has never experienced left regime.
Kerala has 3 CPFs. Among the hill states like Himachal Pradesh leads with 4
CPFs. The total number of CPFs and BLFs in India is 24 and 514 respectively. The
CPFs has a share only of 4.46 per cent out of the total 538 factories. It is
indicative of the monopoly of the BLFs in the green leaf market.
TABLE-3.5
DISTRIBUTION OF BOUGHT-LEAF FACTORIES AND CO-OPERATIVE FACTORIES IN
INDIA
12005)
States Bought-Leaf Co-operative Total Number of
Factories Factories Factories
Assam 163 1 164
Anmachal Pradesh 5 0 5
Mel!halaya 1 0 I
Tripura 2 0 2
North-East India 171 1 172
West Ben_gal 80 0 80
Uttaranchal 1 0 1
Himachal Pradesh 18 4 22
Bihar 1 0 1
North India 100 4 104
Tamil Nadu 213 16 229
Kerala 28 3 31
Kamataka 2 0 2
South India 243 19 262
All India 514 24 538
Source: Unpublished data collected from D1rectorate of Tea Development. Tea Board of
India, Kolkata on 30.08.2005

It can be concluded from the above that though the small tea growers have
been making significant contribution in the total production of tea in the country
yet uncertainties continue to persist about many aspects related to these. For
example in the absence of any authentic source of data related to this sector
researcher has to rely on more than one sources ar~d most often the data obtained
from different sources are full of inconsistencies and intemal discrepancies. Table-
3.6 and Table-3. 7 clearly shows some of these. As mentioned earlier most of the
information related to small tea growers is available with two important bodies

87
namely: the Small Tea Growers Associations and the Tea board of India
respectively. As per United Forum of Small Tea Growers· Associations. North
Bengal. the total tea production of India from Small farms was 192 million kg in
2003. where as it was estimated around 180 million kg by the Tea Board of India
(mentioned below in the table-3.8). Such discrepancies are indicative of deep-
seated structural and institutional anomalies particularly in the unorganized
sectors. Moreover. conspicuous absence of data related to Small Tea Growers and
their farms in India has also contributed in creating other impediments in the
success of this sector. Consequently. the real contribution of this sector to the tea
industry is yet to be explored with proper ground truth and field survey because.
the existing data is an underestimation of the production of this small-scale
sector.
TABLE-3.6
CONTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA GROWERS IN INDIA
12003)
Region Production
[Million kg]
South India 67
Assam 85
North Benl!:al 38
Others includes Tripura 2
Total 192
Source: Collected from United Forum of Small Tea Growers' Associations. North Bengal

Table-3. 7 reveals yet another interesting fact about this sector. It shows a
sudden increase in the number of Smali Tea Growers in India from 35.697 in 1995
to 86,517 in 1998. It is mainly due to entry of the north Indian states of Assam
and West Bengal in the Small Tea Growing Sector. As mentioned earlier. in the
late 1980s or early 1990s. these small-scale farms mushroomed in these two
states though the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Kama taka experienced such a
situation in the early 1960s. The table further shows that there was a decline in
the number of small tea Growers in the subsequent years i.e. from 97267 in 1999
to 71676 in 2005 while during the same period area under Small Tea Plantations
increased from 83152 hectares to 106748. It can be stated that actually this is not
a decline of registered growers. On the contrary, such discrepancies are the
results of lack of commitment of the parent body towards the development Small
Tea Growers on the one hand and consolidation of small tea farms due to
continuous decline in the price of green leaf. which was responsible for the plight

88
of many Small Tea Growers. It was mentioned by many Small Tea Growers during
the discussion that falling price of green leaf compelled many to sell their land to
the medium level growers.
On the basis of the above it can be inferred that the path of growth of the
Small Tea Growers in India has not been a smooth one. This can be further
highlighted if compared with other small-tea growing countries.
TABLE-3.7
GROWTH OF UNORGANISED SMALL TEA GROWING SECTOR IN INDIA
Parameter 1995 1998 1999 2005
Number of Rep;istered Growers 35697 86517 97267 71676
Number Growers reported N.A. N.A. N.A. 126256*
Area in Hectares 26480 68598 83152 106748
Number of BLFs N.A. 246 268 514
Number of CPFs N.A. 22 22 24
Total Number of Factories N.A. 268 290 538
Production in Million Kp: N.A. 98 134 180
t• This figure is based on the different Small Tea Growers· Associations in India)
Source: 1995 data compiled from Tea Market Annual Report and Statistics 1999. 1998 &
1999 data compiled from Tea Statistics 1999-2000. and 2005 data compi.1ed from
Unpublished data collected from Directorate of Tea Development. Tea Board of India.
Koikata on 30.08.2005

3. A COMPARATIVE REGIONAL ANALYSIS- KENYA. SRI LANKA AND INDIA:

The Small Tea Growing Sector, in Kenya and Sri Lanka. is characteri7...ed by
strong supporting institutional framework. which is still in its nascent stages in
India. The contribution of this sector is as low as 21 per cent in India as compared
to 61 per cent and 62 per cent in Kenya and Sri Lanka respectively (Table-3.8). An
important reason behind their low performance in India is the suppression of data
related to the actual performance of this sector. Secondly. most of the produce of
this sector is registered in the account of the large tea estates because the small
tea growers do not have a direct access to the market. Most of these growers sell
their green leafs to the estate factories as well as to the BLFs. But it is only the
sale to the BLFs that goes in the account of the Small growers and the sale to the
estate factories is entered in the account of the later. Moreover. the role of Farias
is also less conducive to the growth of this sector in the study area. They act more
like the middlemen and comer most of the benefits at the cost of the small tea
growers. Thus. underestimation of data has always been the bane of the Small Tea
Growers in India.

89
 The available data also shows that despite too many odds the small tea
farms have done comparatively well in India. The data shows that the absolute
production of this Small Tea Growing Sector in all the three countries in India,
Kenya. and Sri Lanka is more or less equal i.e. 180. 181. and 187 million kg
respectively. Relatively better performance in case of Kenya and Sri Lanka is
largely attribute to the better data management and transparency. which is
lacking in India. In Kenya the Small Tea Growers and the factories are integrated
under the umbrella organization Mthe Kenya Tea Development Agency Ltd." (KTDA
Ltd.). This is solely responsible for the overall development of the Small Tea
Growing Sector from provision of inputs to green leaf collection to co-operatives
run KTDA factories. Similarly. Small Tea Growers in Sri Lanka are organized as
Societies and provide facilities for the transportation of green leaf from the farm
gate to the BLFs and strengthen their bargaining power in obtaining better prices
for the green leaf. The Tea Small Holdings Development Authority (TSHDA) is the
nodal agency to implement and monitor the small holder programmes including
enhanced assistance for replanting. infilling. fertliser application. planting
material supply and advisory services2•.
The Price-Sharing-Formula between Small Tea Growers and BLFs is
implemented in Sri Lanka based on 'Reasonable Price Formula' (RPF). The RPF
insists on compulsory payment of 68 per cent to the Small Tea Growers of the
factory's Net Sale Average (NSA) at the auction and 32 per cent to the BLFs22. In
Kenya. Small Tea Growers are paid, based on the auction prices and it is shared
between Small Tea Growers and BLFs in the proportion of 75 per cent and 25 per
cent respectively.
The Price-Sharing-Formula has also been introduced in India with effect
from 151 April 2004. As per this formula the Net Sale Average is to be shared
between the Small Tea Growers and the BLFs in the ratio of 60:40 in all the tea
growing regions except in Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal where the ratio is
58:42. Though. the Tea Board has evolved the said mechanism yet in practice, it is
not implemented effectively in India. The main reason behind this is the lack of
proper institutional support for the Small Tea Growing Sector. Thus, there is an

21
Tea Board. 2002: Study on Primary Marketing of Tea in India, A.F.Ferguson & Co.,
Kolkata. Chapter-9. p. 3
22 Ibid., Appendix X, p. 2

90
urgent need to initiate a nodal agency Small Grower Development Authority to
implement and monitor Price-Sharing-Formula in tea growing regions. By doing
so. this Unorganised Sector of Tea Industry in India can be saved from market
margins and employers can provide minimum agricultural wages to their workers.
One interesting ambiguous picture is also noticed from the table-8 that the
numbers of Small Tea Growers are 126.256, 400,000, and 206,000 in India,
Kenya, and Sri Lanka respectively, but at the same time, country level production
is abnost srune in all the three countries. The area under tea is comparatively
higher in India and it is 106,748 hectares, in Kenya 86,000 hectares, and in Sri
Lanka 83,000 hectares. On the other end, the number of BLFs is highest in India.
The distribution of BLFs is 538, 53, and 454 in India, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. In
contrary to that the production is less in India as compared to Kenya and Sri
Lanka. This clearly indicates the negligence and ignorance of the respective state
governments as well as Tea Board of India.
Apart form the overall unsatisfactory picture at the national level the
performance of various states have also been different in India. There are
remarkable differences between the North-Eastern states and the states from the
south.
TABLE-3.8
COMPARISON OF LEADING SMALL TEA GROWING COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD
(2005)
Parameter India Kenya Sri Lanka
Number of Small Tea Growers 126256 400000 206000
Area under Tea in Hectares 106748 86000 83000
Production in Million Kf!. 180 181 187
Percentage of Total Production 21 61 62
Number of Bouf!]lt-Leaf Factories 538 53 454
Source: Unpublished data collected from D1rectorate ofTea Development, Tea Board of
India, Kolkata on 30.08.2005

4. EMERGENCE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATION

IN TAMIL NADU - NILGIRIS:

Tea plantation in Tamil Nadu is mainly concentrated in Nilgiri district due

to favourable agro-climatic conditions. Originally the district was part of a coffee
growing region and tea was introduced around 1835 following the
recommendations of a committee appointed by the then Madras Government23 .

23 Tea Board. 1980: Techno-Economic Survey of Nilgiris Tea Industry, Tea Board of
India, Kolkata. p. 2

91
The Small Tea Growers came into picture in early 1950s. The idea of setting up
CPFs for improving the economic viability of Small Tea Growers was first stressed
by the Plantation Enquiry Commission in 1956. The Government of Tamil Nadu
made the pioneering work in this regard by formulating a scheme for Small Tea
Growers in 1958 on a co-operative basis24 • The Tamil Nadu Small Tea Growers'
Industrial Co-operative Factories Federation Umited (INDCOSERVE). the apex body
of the CPFs, has estimated that there are around 50,000 Small Tea Growers in the
state. They account for 30,000 hectares of farmland 2s. The above mentioned
umbrella organization has 16 CPFs within its ambit. The first industrial co-
operative tea factory in India was thus started at Kundah village in 1962 in Nilgiri
district 2s. As per Tea Board of India (2005), presently there are 61.985 Small
Growers with a holding of 43.157 hectares in the entire state of Tamil Nadu. This
small sector produces around 65 million kg tea27. There are 16 CPFs and 213
BLFs are in operation in the state.

5. EMERGENCES AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS

IN KERALA AND KARNATAKA.:

In Kerala initially, Small Tea Growers were concentrated mostly in districts

Kottayam and IdukkL A majority of Small Tea Plantations in Kottayam district
came into existence around 1950s, when tea prices enjoyed buoyancy and the
export quota system were in operation28. The buoyant tea prices and the export
quota system had prompted the Small Tea Growers to register themselves with the
Tea Board. The registration was slackened after the quota system was suspended
in 1961. During 1970-71 the price of green leaf declined considerably and many of
the planters in Kottayam switch over to rubber plantation because, the price of
rubber was steadily increasing during those years. Another important reason
attributed by the Growers for the switch over was reportedly the assistance given
by the Rubber Board through their development programmes to the small growing

24 Ibid., p. 68
25 INDCOSERVE. 2004: Small Tea Growers' Co-operative Tea Factories, Coonoor ffamil
Nadu). Unpublished Short Notes, p. 1
26 S.K. Bhowmlk. 1997: Participation and Control: Study of a Co-operative Tea Factory in

the Nilgiris, Economic and Political Weekly, September 27, p. A-107

27 Tea Board. 2002: Tea Statistics 1999-2000, Tea Board of India, Kolkata. p. 24
28 Tea Board. 1979: Techno-Economic Survey of Small Tea Gardens in Kottayam and
Idukki, Tea Board of India, Kolkata. p. 5

92
sector. As compared to tlJiS the situation in district ldukki was entirely different.
The Small Tea Plantations in here are relatively of recent origin and a majority of
these came into existence by 1960. Moreover. most of the Small Tea Plantations in
Idukki are still unregistered. The Small Tea Growers in this district could not
switch over to rubber as was done by their counterparts in Kottayam. Since
rubber could not grow at those altitudes and variations in the local geographical
factors too were against the development of tea in this district29. As per Tea Board
of India (2005). there are 5999 Small Tea Growers with 4810 hectares of
plantation in Kerala and they are distributed in Idukld and Wynaad districts.
There are 28 BLFs and 3 CPFs are in operation in Kerala. The total production of
Kerala from Small Tea Plantations is around 3.5 million kg tea30. Geographical
neamess of the BLFs and CPFs is an important factor in determining the mode of
sale of green leaves.
6. EMERGENCE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATION
IN HIMACHAL PRADESH:

Tea is grown in Kangra and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh. The

former accounts more than 90 per cent of the total area under tea plantation in
the stat& 1 • Although. Kangra valley is endowed with suitable agro-climatic
conditions for tea plantation and has other favourable factors like availability of
land. tea bushes of the Chinese variety and the least incidence of pests and plant
diseases. yet the tea industry in this region is not enjoying healthy conditions
because of various reasons. The problems faced by Small Tea Growers were
reported to be lack of suitable planting materials at reasonable prices. non-
availability of fertilizers, the inability of Small Growers to employ permanent and
skilled labour and the non-remunerative price of tea as compared to other crops.
There are instances of Small Tea Growers switching over to cultivation of other
crops. Added to this, the tea industry in Kangra has not been attracting adequate
number of permanent and skilled labour owing to comparatively lower wages
offered by the tea planters. Consequently. it has been noticed that majority of
owners too work as labourers in their own family farms. It may also be pointed out

29 Ibid .• p. 6
30
Tea Board. 2002: Tea Statistics 1999-2000, Tea Board of India. Kolkata. p. 20
31
Tea Board. 1979: Techno-Economic Survey of Small Tea Gardens in Kangra
(Himachal Pradesh), Tea Board of India, Kolkata. p. 4

93
that adequate and timely availability of labour has become difficult in this region
in view of the diversion of a large number of labourers to other activities like
construction. agriculture, orchards etc. Since majority of the Small Tea Growers
do not own any factory they have to carry the green leaf either to the CPFs or to
the large estates that are having factories. So, carrying green leaf to other places is
not only difficult and time consuming but it is also equally a crude process which.
adversely effects the over all quality of the tea. The first CPFs started at Bir in the
year 196432 • At present there are 3675 Small Tea Growers with an area of 1660
hectares in Himachal Pradesh and 18 BLFs and 4 CPFs.

7. EMERGENCE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS

IN ASSAM AND NORTH-EASTERN REGION:

In Assam and other North-Eastern States, the concept of growing tea in

smallholdings was unheard until 1975. when a small beginning was made in
Assam33. Small farmers in these states started taking up tea cultivation on a large
scale during mid 1990's due to good prices that prevailed during 1996-98. The
average size in majority of the holdings is less than one hectare. These small and
marginal farmers are dependent on tea and derive major portion of their cash
income from tea. Tea in the north Eastern has become a farmers' crop, ushering in
a new way of life with a new avenue not only for self-employment but also for other
wage earners. The abundance of uplands, availability of proven agro-technology,
skilled labour, advantage of a long duration plantation crop over the other
seasonal agricultural crops, suitable soil and climate etc. are some of the factors
that encouraged the small and marginal farmers as well as educated unemployed
and others to take up tea plantation. The major strength of this sector lies in the
young and most productive age of the plantations of reasonably high clonal
composition, low cost of production and the youth segment of the entrepreneurs
with receptiveness to new and improved agro-techniques. Assam and Tripura were
the only traditional tea growing areas before the emergence of Small Tea Growers
in the North-Eastern Region. Today. almost all the hill states in the region grow
tea. The total area under Small Tea Plantations is 45116 hectares and the number

32 Ibid., p. 6
33 Tea Board. 2003: 48'h Annual Report 2001-2002, Tea Board of India. Kolkata. p. 26

94
Small Tea Growers is 45132 (mentioned above in Table-3.4). There are 172 BLFs
and CPFs in the region (see Table-3.5).
Considering the institutional and other hurdles present in the North-
Eastern region. the Tea board of India offers special assistance to this important
sector of the economy. Most often it is in the form of subsidies. other financial
support and technical training to the small growers. During the Ninth Five Year
Plan (1997-2002). Tea Board allotted plantation subsidy to 819 Small Tea Growers
up to Rs.866.83 lakh (Table-3.9). It contributed in the development of 3739.22
hectares under small tea plantation, during the same period. Except Sikkim.
almost all the North-Eastern states, the small growers have been benefited from
PlW1tation Subsidy Scheme. The highest area developed by such scheme was found
in Assam with 983.01 hectares in traditional tea growing areas of the state and
548.37 hectares in non-traditional areas. In addition to that. with the fmancial
assistance from Tea Board an exclusive cell aimed at rendering extension services
to Small Tea Growers in the region was set up in the name as Small Tea Growers
Advisory Programme (STAP) in the year 199134.
TABLE-3.9
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE EXTENDED TO THE SMALL GROWERS IN NORTH-EASTERN
REGION
the 9th Plan Period!
!Durin~
States Subsidy
Number of Area Developed Rupees
Growers (in hectares) (In lakhs)
Assam m 378 983.01 148.21
Assam (Nn 95 548.37 144.04
Tripura 192 350.72 69.73
Arunachal Pradesh 44 837.39 252.77
Nae;aland 93 741.60 188.91
Mee;halaya 9 96.64 25.81
Manipur 7 131.49 27.88
Mi.zoram 1 50.00 9.48
Total for NER• 819 3739.22 866.83
• Excluding the state of Sikk.im; T- Traditional, NT- Non-Traditional
Source: 481" Annual Report 2001-2002, Tea Board

The emergence of Small Tea Plantations in North Bengal is somewhat

similar to North-Eastern region. Both the states, these plantations appeared
during 1990s. Both the states share the same colonial history and geographic
continuity. Apart from that there are many operational aspects and government

34 Ibid .• p. 30

95
policies require special attention to analyze. The following section deals with the
growth of BLFs. problem of 'obtaining no-objection certificate'. introduction of
'price-sharing formula' and its implementation, formation of Self-Help Groups and
dynamics of Small Growers' Associations, extent of agro-extension services to the
Small Tea Growers' etc. have been elaborated in respect of North Bengal.
m
EMERGENCE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN
NORTH BENGAL

Traditionally. tea cultivation in India started during the colonial period

when large tracts of waste lands and forest lands were available in sparsely
populated areas of Assam and West Bengal. These plantations were managed and
run by the corporate sector and carried the tag of enclave character where
participation of local labour was negligible or totally absent and the state of West
Bengal was not an exception to this. Here the traditional tea growing areas are
confined in DaJjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and are divided into three regions
namely. DClljeeling Hills. Dooars and Terru'3s. According to the Labour Gazette
(1994), there were 275 tea estates in West Bengal with an area of 94386.62
hectares (Table-3.10). According to some other estimates 2002). there are 277
estate gardens registered under Plantation Labour Act. covering an area of
•
103.950 hectares. producing about 169.90 million kg tea3G. Initially these areas
were not considered suitable for tea plantation hence. were sparsely populated
with equally low supply of locally available labour. Thus. during the formative
years. plantations faced the problem of acute labour shortage. They had to depend
on migrant labour whose migration had to be induced by the planters themselves.
As a result. the entire labour force in the tea plantations in West Bengal comprises
immigrants and their descendents. The workers in Dooars and Terai are tribal
mainly from central India, namely. Chota Nagpur and Santhal Pargana regions of
Jharkhand and contiguous tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Oraons
constitute roughly half the population and the rest comprises Munda. Kharia.

35 The tea growing area in Jalpaigurt distrtct is known as Dooars and the plains of
Darjeeling distrtct are known as Terai - S.K. Bhowmik and K. Sarkar. mentioned in Trade
Unions and Women Workers in Tea Plantations. Economic and Political Weekly,
December 1998. p. L-50
36 Government of West Bengal. 2004: Report of the Committee on the Tea Industry in

West Bengal, Department of Commerce and Industries, Kolkata. Para 2.6. p. 7

96
Swttllal. Lollar. Baraik. etc. Around 20 per cent of the labour force consists of
immigrants from Nepal who belong to different caste groups:n. All these workers
and their families are now pem1anently settled in their respective regions and have
little contact with the place of their origin. The average labour absorption in
traditional tea estates is 2.36 persons per hectare in West Bengal and it varies
from hills to plains. In Orujeeling Hills it is 2.82 persons per hectare while it is
lowest in Siliguri Plains as 2.01 persons per hectare. The topographic factors have
a direct impact on manpower requirement in the tea plantations. It is clearly
evident from the Table-3.1 0 below.
TABLE-3.10
DISTRIBUTION OF TRADITIONAL TEA GARDENS IN NORTH BENGAL
11994)
District I Region Number Area under Percentage Total Dally Rated
of Tea Plantation of Plantation Permanent
Estates [In hectares] Area out of Workers &
Gross Area of (Labour
Tea Estates Absorption
Per Hectare]
Siliguri 56 14162.05 62.75 28966(2.0 I)
Darjeeling Hills 65 14365.44 46.74 40513(2.82)
Darjeellng 121 28527.49 53.52 69479(2.44)
Malbazar 45 17973.15 59.40 46366(2.58)
Jalpaiguri 59 24758.00 56.04 51263(2.07)
Alipurduar 50 23127.98 61.99 55414(2.40)
Jalpail!url 154 65859.13 58.93 153043(2.32)
Total 275 94386.62 57.19 222522(2.36)
Source: Plantation Workers in West Bengal. Labour Gazette ( 1994)

It is worth mentioning here that during the late 80s and early 90s of last
century this area in North Bengal was dominated by pineapple cultivation. During
late 1980s farmers resorted to tea cultivation in their fields due to paucity of
available market for the pineapple. Since. this is perishable product; a ripe
pineapple cannot be kept for long and transported over a long distance. There was
no readily available local market for pineapple besides household-level
consumption. Thus. in the absence of proper market and processing technology
the pineapple growers had to face a lot of difficulties for selling their products.
Moreover. most of the products were sent to distant cities like Delhi. KW1pur. Agra.
Nagpur. and Kolkata etc. it was inadvertently involving an army of middlemen
each taking a share of the produce. Consequently. the presence of middlemen
37 S.K. Bhowtnik and K. Sarkar. 1998: Trade Unions and Women Workers in Tea
Plantations. Economic Political Weekly, December 26. p. L-50

97
placed unnecessary burden on the producers. which. in tum brought in its own
share of uncertainties in the cultivation of pineapple. Thus. the resultant out come
was that the vast tracts pineapple growing area had to submerge and give way to a
new and commercially viable crop like tea. Thus. the resultant outcome was the
emergence and spread of Small Tea Plantations in the last two decades of the
twentieth century.
The recent origin of Small Tea Plantations in North Bengal or West Bengal
bears a different role in their emergence and their spread covers beyond the
traditional tea-producing region. As a late comer, the small-scale sector virtually
found nearly very little virgin high land and most of the land used by the Small
Tea Growers may be considered as second grade land. Thus. this sector includes
following categories of land: a) Virgin land. b) Crop replaced land. c) Marginal land.
and d) Unsuitable land3s. Currently these plantations are distributed in
Datjeeling. Jalpaiguri. Coochbehar and Uttar Dinajpur districts. Initially. Small
Tea Plantations started in Chopra block of district Uttar Dinajpur and spread in
other localities later i.e. Sadar. Rqjganj. Mainaguri and Malbazar in district
Jalpaiguri: Jslampur and Goalpokhar in district Uttar Dinajpur; and Mekhliganj in
district Coochbehar39 . Chopra is considered as the birthplace of Small Tea
Plantations in North Bengal. This is basically a farmer-based tea cultivation
occupying small tracts of land. Here landholdings are small and even at times it
becomes uneconomic. Since. these farms were small in size as well as scale of
production so. they could not afford to have their own tea processing unit of
factory. But at the same time they were equally apprehensive about the attitude of
the estate farms and factories towards them. So, they were left with little option
but to initiate new set up of factories known as the Bought-Leaf Factory or for shot
BLF.
1. GROWTH OF BOUGHT-LEAF FACTORIES IN NORTH BENGAL:
In the initial stages the Small Tea Growers used to sell their farm product
i.e. green leaf to the estate gardens. but later Bought-Leaf Factories came up to
fulfill the needs of the Small Tea Growers. During formative years. Growers were

38 B.G.Chakraborty. 2005: Small Tea Growers of North Bengal. The Assam Review and
Tea News, October. p. 18
39United Forum of SmaJI Tea Growers Associations. 2006: Report of the 4•h Annual
General Meeting, held on 26'" March. p. I

98
facing transporting problem as Small Tea Plantations emerged in backward areas
having distant and remote location from estate gardens. Though. there is an acute
paucity of authentic data on Bought-Leaf Factories and production since
inception. yet efforts have been made by different agencies to get some
conservative estimate of the same. And these are also available only from 1999
onwards. The number of BLFs was 77 in the year 2005 with a production of 52
million kg and the contribution of Small Tea Plantations to tea industry in West
Bengal was approximately 24 per cent. The growth rate of number of BLFs over a
period of seven years from 1999 to 2005 is 175 per cent4o. The production from
the traditional estate gardens was 214.7 million kg in 2005 (Table-3.11). It should
be mentioned here that a sizable number of estate gardens too purchase green leaf
from Small Tea Growers. and production data from them are not available
separately. Therefore. the contribution from Small Tea Plantations is expected to
be much higher than the one reported in the conservative estimates given below.
TABLE-3.11
CONTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN NORTH BENGAL
Years Number of Production of Tea Production of Tea Percentage
Bought-Leaf from from Traditional Contribution of
Factories4t Small Tea Gardens Small Tea
Plantations [In million kg] Plantations
[In million kg]
1999 28 13.1 175.9 7.44
2000 42 16.9 180.7 9.35
2001 43 24.3 186.8 13.01
2002 57 32.8 189.8 17.28
2003* 62 36.5 200.6 18.20
2004** 77 46.0 214.5 21.44
2005** 77 52.0 214.7 24.22
I* In the year 2003 total 71 BLFs were registered to the T!!a Board m North Bengal and
only 62 BLFs were in operation (see in Appendix-IV}, •• In the year 2004 and 2005. 80
BLFs were registered but 77 BLFs were in operation)
Source: Unpublished data Collected from Development Officer, Tea Board Regional Office.
Siliguri

For the Small Tea Growers in North Bengal. it is a history repeating itself.
They are once again affront with same kind of market insecurity. which they
experienced with the pineapple cultivation. In the financial. labour and commodity
market they are once again at the receiving end. Institutional credit is not

40
This is simple growth of number of BLFs in North Bengal considering 1999 as base yt>ar.
41Since 1998 there were 71 registered Bought-Leaf-Factories but all of them wt>re not in
operation

99
available to them and consequently. they look for credit from infom1al sources al
an exorbitant rate of interest. It has led to a situation where they are always under
debt. There is wide gap between the institutional incentive and available financial
support received by the growers in this small sector. At the labour market too they
are treated at par with the large estate gardens.
It is ironical that despite the step-motherly treatment met to the Small Tea
Plantations in the credit. labour and commodity market by various govemment
institutions and private processing units; these continue to perform much better
than what was expected. It is particularly remarkable if one looks at the
performance shown by these in terms of the employment generation (for details
see table-4.31 in Fourth Chapter). Today. there are 77 BLFs in operation in this
region. which are fully dependent of purchasing of green leaf from small tea
growers. In the year 2005 the total production was around 52 million kg.
Apart form the above mentioned operational problems the land related
policies of the Govemment of West Bengal have also contributed in making the
working of these small farms more difficult. Introduction of 'No-Objection
Certificate' (NOC) is by far the most important policy hazard in the development of
the Small Tea Plantations42.
2. INTRODUCTION OF NO-OBJECTION CERTIFICATE (NOC) AND LEGAL
RECOGNITION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN NORTH BENGAL:

In the initial phase of the development of Small Tea Plantations in North

Bengal during late 1980s. certain problems arose due to the purchase of land by
private companies involving middlemen. Besides the Dangis. agricultural plots
were also sold to the companies and people were promised to get a job in the tea
gardens. In this way many farmers sold the Dangis as well as the Nichanparas to
the companies. In some cases it was reported that drains were dug which drained
out the water from prime agricultural land and created conditions of falling
ground water table and moisture retention capacity of the soil. This in tum
contributed in land degradation. Consequently. the local people were forced to sell
their land to the big estate farms. Moreover. the topography in and around the
Small Tea Plantations was much different form that of the traditional tea estates.
It is observed that the traditional tea plantations are situated in the backdrop of a

42
This is a unanimous decision of the Small Tea Growers infom1ed during the field survey.

100
generally homogeneous topography. These estates are large in si;~.e and contiguous
whereas the Small Tea Plantations are interspersed with the Drutgis and the
Nichanparas. This too contributed in multiplying the difficulties to the traditional
agriculture particularly wet-rice cultivation. which is solely dependent on monsoon
rain. As a result. people living in the surrounding areas of large plantations
started selling their lands. A great fear developed among the local people about
their livelihood depending on the wet-rice cultivation. It was wide spread Daspara
(situated in Chopra block) to Patagora (situated in Islampur block) along the Indo-
Bangladesh border in Uttar Dinajpur district. All these triggered the ·agrarian
movement' in the region in the 1989-90. This people's movement finally forced the
State Government to come with a land policy in early 199()43, which formulated
the following conditions to establish tea plantation in North Bengal. The guidelines
are as follows:
1. I .It is not to be prime agricultural land.
2. It is not to be tribal land.
3. It does not fall within the Teesta Command Area.
4. It is not forest land.

Hereafter. getting an NOC from the State Government was made mandatory to
every incumbent tea cultivator. With this government notification. the local people.
trade unions and local panchayats realized the socio-economic importance of the
plantations and finally a consensus was reached accordingly. The Duncan Tea
estate is said to be the first to get permission to start a tea garden project in the
Islampur subdivision in Uttar Oinajpur district in the year 1991 44 • The State
Government later confirmed that others could also obtain NOC if they adhered to
the guidelines.
Under the provision laid down in the NOC system by the Land Reforms
Department. Government of West Bengal. a planter has to go through long
formalities to get clearance before starting tea cultivation. Before reaching to the
Tea Board of India for registration. the owner has to apply to the District Land and
Land Reforms Officer for obtaining NOC giving details of the land. It should be
mentioned here that during these years. due to lack of recognition the planters

43 K. Sharma. 1999: Tea Industry in India - An Introduction. N.L. Publishers.

Dlbrugarh. p. 18
44 The Statesman. 1994: Where the land under tea Is disputed? By Pabitra Dey.
14.10.1994. p. 7

101
could not access fonnal institutional credit hence. expanded the plantation
acreage by their own efforts and finance. Since tea plantation is a capital-intensive
agricultural operation, the planters particularly Small Tea Growers have their slow
pace of development and conversion of their own pineapple land into tea
cultivation. It was only on 21st August 1998 that the State Government passed an
order to issue NOC to the tea planters. Under the provision of this order. the
owners of tea gardens up to 24.20 acres of land holding are tenned as Tea
Cultivator and the certificates issued to them called as Certificate for Cultivation of
Tea The small tea-garden owners (within 24.20 acres) may apply to the District
Land and Land Refonns Officer concerned for certification. If the tea-garden holds
more than 7 hectares (24.20 acres) of land, it should be asked to apply to the
State Government through the District Land and Land Refonns Officer concerned
under section 14Y of the Act for permission to hold land in excess of the ceiling
limit. Under this new order NOC guidelines4 5 for the new tea gardens laid down by
the state government are the following:
MPara-1. A number of new tea-gardens have recently come up in the districts
of Uttar Dinajpur, Daljeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. It appears that
in many cases there have been deviations from the guidelines issued by the
department on June 11, 1990 and September 27, 1993 regarding the
establishment of new tea-gardens. After detailed field study and careful
examination of the issues relating to these new gardens vis-a-vis the
relevant provisions of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. the Government
have decided to treat the case of each new tea-garden separately and take
actions as detaiJed below:
Para-2. The first and foremost task is to prepare a complete account of the
total land possessed by a new tea-garden. Expectedly, the Land & Land
Reforms officials at the Block Level have already completed the exercise as
per instructions issued by the Department vide No. 3879 (4) - T.G., dated
the 161h June. 1994. If such assessment as to the total quantum of land
held by any tea-garden has not yet been completed, the assessment for the
left out tea-gardens should be completed on priority basis within a time
frame of 3 (three) months.
Para-9. In order to enable the small tea-garden owners to get recognition as
cultivators of tea and for facilitating the district authorities to keep full
account of the tea-gardens within the district, certification is necessary. The
small tea-garden owners may apply to the District Land & Land Reforms
Officer concerned for certification. On receipt of such applications the D.L.
& L.R.O. shall cause an enquiry as to the correctness of the land statement
and determine rent as provided in para-8 above and issue a certificate in
the form appended."

45Govt. of West Bengal, No. 2052 (8) I l (3)- L. Ref., dated, the 21 51 August 1998,
Calcutta.

102
This new system too proved to be a bigger hindrance in the smooth functioning of
Small Te~. Plantations in the entire North Bengal. In this way. the Small Tea
Plantations are not only delayed due to time lag in their legal recognition, this
action of the State Govemment also retarded the growth and development of Small
Tea Plantations in the region. It is often said that the Justice delayed is justice
denied and the same has happened to Small Tea Growers in the region. As on
30.11.2004, there were 5941 Small Tea Growers submitted applications for NOC
and out ofwhich only 1699 of them received NOC (Table-3.12). As per this source.
out of total number of Small Tea growers in North Bengal only 28.59 per cent have
received NOC from the state govemment. The district-wise distribution of NOC
issued has also shown very unsatisfactory results. The highest percentages of
applicants received NOC are in Da.Ijeeling district with 43.40 per cent. while it is
lowest in Uttar Dinajpur district with 12.41 per cent. This has resulted in
obtaining Tea Board's registration. In 2005, only 538 Small Tea Growers are
registered with Tea Board in North BengaJ4G.
TABLE-3.12
NO-OBJECTION CERTIFICATE (NOC) OBTAINED BY THE SMALL TEA GROWERS IN
NORTH BENGAL
12004]
District Total Number of Total number of % of NOC issued
Small Tea Growers NOC Issued out of total
Applied for NOC applicants as on
30.11.2004
Jalpaie;uri 1860 561 30.16
Darieeline: 1947 845 43.40
Uttar Dinajpur 2005 249 12.41
Coochbehar 129 44 34.10
Total 5941 1699 28.59
Source: Unpubhshed data collected from United Forum of Small Tea Growers'
Associations, North Bengal

It is evident form the above discussions that with the passage of time the
small growers were affront with many difficulties and they were running out of
their patience. Lackadaisical attitude of the state govemment too didn't address
their grievances. As a consequence, the small growers initiated their own united
grievance redress mechanism. Formation of North Bengal Small Tea Planters'

46 B.G.Chakraborty, 2005: Small Tea Growers of North Bengal, The Assam Review and
Tea News. October, p. 20

103
Association and United Forum of Small Tea Growers· Associations were some of
these concrete steps.
3. FORMATION OF NORTH BENGAL SMALL TEA PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION:
This is the parent as well as the oldest Small Tea Growers· Association in
the region. It was fanned in the year 1994 with a leading role played by Late
Khagen Chandra Pal, the owner of Trayambak Tea Estate. Since then this
organization is taking up problems faced by the small growers like NOC. wage
determination. yearly bonus settlement. fann specific problems etc. In the later
years some other issues like central location of association at Siliguri, was also
taken up the organization. Its urban location increasingly distanced it away from
the rural growers and brought closer to the urban growers. Consequently. the
rural growers formed their small organizations in different parts of the North
Bengal. which are collectively known as United Forum of Small Tea Growers'
Associations. The another dimension of the North Bengal Small Tea Planters·
Association is that it is mostly covering the tea growers up to a land holding size of
100 acres. This organization has categorized the Small Tea Growers into four
categories. viz. Group-A (51-100 acres). Group-B (24-50 acres). Group-e (11-23
acres). and Group-D (below 10 acres). At present. the North Bengal Small Tea
Planters' Association has 9 members in Group-A. 28 members in Group-B. 73
members in Group-C. and 14 members in Group-O in Islampur Sub-division
(Appendix-V). Therefore. the small growers' definition given by the Tea Board is
absent in this regard. There was a demand to include the small growers up to 50
acres of land as prevailed in Sri Lanka. This organization talks of redefine of small
grower's definition.
Source: This is based on Personal Interview of the President and the General
Secretary of North Bengal Small Tea Planters' Association

5. FORMATION OF UNITED FORUM OF SMALL TEA GROWERS'

ASSOCIATIONS:

The United Forum of Small Tea Growers' Associations (UFSTGA). consists of

nine small tea growers· associations in different parts of North Bengal including
Bihar Tea Planters· Association representing district Kishanganj. Bihar. It is an
apex body of nine Small Tea Growers Associations, which was fanned in the year

104
200247. Initially. the North Bengal Small Tea Planters' Association was also
constituent in this forum but within a few months of its inception there was a split
and the North Bengal Small Tea Planters' Association opted out of this fontm. The
names of the other constituents of the Forum are as follows:
Jalpaiguri
I) Uttar Banga Kshudra Cha Chasi Welfare Samity (Jalpaiguri)
2) Uttar Banga Kshudra Prantik Cha Chasi Samity (Jalpaiguri)
3) Indian Tea Planters' Association (New Tea Garden Forum.
Jalpaiguri)
4) United Small Tea Planters Welfare Association (Jalpaiguri)
Uttar Dinaipur
5) Uttar Dinajpur Small Tea Planters' Association (Uttar Dinajpur)
6) Uttar Dinajpur Small Tea Growers' Welfare Association (Uttar
Dinajpur)
7) Daspara Little Planters' Association (Uttar Dinajpur)
Darjeeling
8) Terai Indian Planters Association (New Tea Garden Forum.
Daijeeling)
9) Bihar Tea Planters' Association (Kharibari, Daijeeling)

The main objective of the Forum is to withstand collectively against the crisis of
tea industry in general and to address the problems faced the Small Growers in
North Bengal and Bihar in particular. Since most of the Small Growers are not
registered with the Tea Board of India, they did not receive due response from the
concerned authorities like the Tea Board of India, Land Reforms Department.
Govemment of West Bengal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Govemment of
India as well as West Bengal, to highlight the issues related to micro-region
specific problems faced by the growers. The Forum was established to create a
space for Small Growers in tea industry as Small Tea Plantations are of recent
origin. Since its formation the Forum actively engaged itself in delivering the major
issues like delay of issuance of No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to the growers.
proper marketing strategy for growers. implementation of price-sharing formula
between BLFs and Small Growers. inadequate agri-extension services of the Tea
Board, creation of a nodal agency for Small Growers as prevalent in Sri Lanka and
Kenya, funding for Research and Development in small tea sector and their special
needs. Apart from this, the forum also promised to deliver upon issues related to

47 Based on interaction and Interview of the Convener of United Fontm of Small Tea

Growers' Associations on 6'" February 2005.

105
conflict resolution and future demands. Some other important activities of the
forum are:
I. Small Tea Growers of North Bengal should be brought under the different kinds of
self-employment schemes offered by both the State and Central Government.
2. K.ishan credit card should be issued to the Small Tea Growers and crop loan for
maintaining the farm during the lean season.
3. Small Tea Growers are exempted from all kinds of taxes in Assam and South India:
same should be applicable in West Bengal too.
4. Government should conduct a full-fledge survey of area. production. and labour
absorption. number BLFs and location etc. for assessing the condition of Small Te.a
Growers and prepare a future strategy for planning and development.
5. Action should be taken against the planting tea after the cut-off date i.e.
30.06.200I.
6. Need based permission be given for setting up new BLFs in different localities in
North Bengal. Installed capacity of BLFs should be examined and production
capacity should be assessed and enhanced as per requirement by Small Tea
Growers.
7. Approximately 41 0 Small Tea Growers availed financial assistance from Tea Board
of India under Tea Plantation Subsidy Scheme in North Bengal. Now a total of
nearly 2500 Small Tea Growers have received NOC from the State Government
though they planted before 30.06.200148. Due to delay of receiving NOC from Land
Reforms Department. Government of West Bengal. Small Tea Growers could not
avail this opportunity. On the other hand. Tea Board's fiXed planting time limit was
from 01.07.1999 to 30.06.200 I and closing date of application was 30.09.2003 for
availing Tea Plantation Subsidy Scheme. Thus. they could not avail the offer made
to them. They demand an extension of date of application for availing the proposed
subsidy.
8. As per the rule. E-form are to be submitted to the Tea Board in every month by the
BLFs. The authenticity of fiJiing the E-form should be monitored and properly
examined. The total production of tea produced by the Small Tea Growers is 40
million kg. and nearly 90 per cent of tea produced by BLFs is sold through non-
auction route. Effective implementation of Price-Sharing-Formula should be
evolved. Failure of Price-Sharing-Formula is caused due to fulfilling immediate
gains of Small Tea Growers.
9. Very small amount of green leaf reaches directly to the BLFs and Farias (leaf
agents) dominate green leaf market. The position of the Farias should be formalized
in relation to the leaf market.
10. Workers engaged in Small Tea Gardens should be covered under different
development schemes like Indira Awas Yojana. Social Security Scheme for
unorganised workers etc. Labourers are not traditionally attached to tea cultivation
as they shifted from jute. rice and pineapple. Work culture should be improved
with due consultations with the trade unions. accordingly. Productivity linkage
wage should be practiced in Small Grower Sector. Many a times it is noticed that
the workers are provoked by trade union leaders without understanding the
industrial sickness and instability. Thus. politicking in the small tea plantations
should be discouraged at every level.

Source: This emerged during the interaction and interview with the Convener of United
Forum of Small Tea Growers· Associations.

48Government of West Bengal: Ref. Letter No. 3186 (8) I 1 (3)-L. Ref. dated on 23n1
July 2001, Kolkata.

106
 An important outcome of the organizational set-up thus evolved was broad
agreement on the price sharing formula between the small tea growers and the
BLFs.
5. INTRODUCTION OF PRICE-SHARING FORMULA (PSF) BY THE TEA BOARD
OF INDIA;

Initially. the Small Tea Growers operating in North Bengal used to sell their
green leaf to the estate garden factories, but later on number of BLFs came up to
cater the needs of the Small Tea Growers. As per Tea Board of India (2005). there
are at present 80 BLFs in operation in North Bengal alone. Besides this. some
estate garden factories are also purchasing green leaf from Small Tea Growers. In
this region. the purchase of green leaf is dominated by the Farias. The green leaf
price is most often arbitrary. For the past three years (200 1-2003). the Small Tea
Growers were affected by the poor price realization despite discernible
improvement in plucking standard49. In the month of March (2003). the green leaf
price was reduced toRs. 3 per kg. But due to the agitations. road blockades and
indefinite strikes by the Small Tea Growers. the Divisional Commissioner.
Jalpaiguri Division on behalf of Govemment of West Bengal. flxed a minimum rate
of Rs. 6 per kg. It is paradoxical to note that the BLFs failed to maintain their
commitment in the successive months. Finally, Govemment of West Bengal
submitted a reportso to the Tea Board of India as suggested in Para 5. 1 (b) of the
report. Some of the highlights of the report are:

49
B.G. Chakraborty. 2003: North Bengal Small Growers. Contemporary Tea Time, July-
August. Vol. Xll No. 2. p. 61
50
Government of West Bengal. 2004: Report of the Committee on the Tea Industry in
West Bengal, Department of Commerce and Industries. Kolkata. p. 10

107
 (i) !he Tea Board should lay down a Price-Sharing-Fonnula in tem1s of
which the sale proceeds of made tea produced by the BLFs is shared
in flXed proportions between the Small Tea Growers and BLF's. The
TMCO 2003 has a provision to this effect. and this practice is
already being implemented in Sri Lanka. This will ensure that Small
Tea Growers get a reasonable price for the green leaf. which they sell
to the BLFs. At present. this market is a buyers market in which the
BLF's is able to ftx the price at which they will buy green leaf from
the Small Tea Growers and other new non-estate plantations.
(ii) In order to ensure further transparency and fairness in the trade in
green leaf, there should be a one-to-one linkage between each BLF's
and Small Tea Growers. The Tea Board can chalk out the tagging of
selected Small Tea Growers with each BLF's. keeping in view the
capacity of each BLFs and the geographical location of the BLFs and
the Small Tea Plantations. This one-to-one tagging means that a
particular BLFs can buy green leaf only from the Small Tea
Plantations tagged to it. and it cannot buy green leaf from any other
source. Similarly. the Small Tea Growers can sell gre-en leaf only to
the BLFs to which they are tagged. and they cannot sell to any other
agency. This will ensure further stability in the price of green leaf.
and can be introduced along with 100 o/o auction. There is such a
system prevailing in Tamil Nadu. though there it has developed on
its own over time".

Eventually. Tea Board of India regarding implementation of Price-Sharing-Formula

between the green leaf suppliers and manufacturers. the Chairman. Tea Board
vide circular No. 12 (23)/2003/Xll/3317 dated 19/20.01.2004 and 12
(23)/LC/2003/XII/ dated 26.03.2004 issued an order to implement Price-Sharing-
Formula with effect from I st April 2004.
!he Price-Sharing-Sharing-Formula envisages sharing of sale proceeds
between green leaf supplier and manufacturer in the ratio of 60:40 in all tea
growing states except Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. where the
sharing is in the ratio of 52:48. so long as the prices realized by the
manufacturers remain either at par \vith or lower than the state average.
When the price realization exceeds the state average price. the differential is
required to be shared in the ratio of 50:50. While calculating the actual
price for the green leaf. the out turn percentage is also taken into
consideration. The out turn a percentage applicable to Tamil Nadu is 23 %.
Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal it is 26.40 o/o and for rest of India it is
21.50 %".

To elaborate further the Price-Sharing-Formula and its regulations are as

follows:

108
 M(4) green leaf price payable to the tea leaf suppliers shall be in accordance
with the order vide letter no. 12 (23) LCI20031XII13317 ON 191h January
2004 and it has to be calculated as mentioned in Para (5) and (6) below5 •.
(5) the sale proceeds is to be shared in the ratio of 60 : 40 when the average
price realized by the manufacturer of any state of North India for all teas
during the reporting month is either equal to of less than the monthly
combined average auction price for CTC teas of the said state sold in the
auction centers at Kolkata, Siliguri and Guwahati. For the manufacturing
units located in any state of South India. the sharing at the ratio 60 : 40
shall apply when the combined average auction price for CTC teas of any
state of South India in the auction centers at Cochin, Coimbatore and
Coonoor is higher than the sale proceeds of any manufacturer of the
concerned state of South India.
(6) where the price realized by the manufacturer of any state for the
reporting month exceeds the monthly average auction price for the CTC teas
of the concerned state, the differential between the auction average price
and the price realized by the manufacturer shall be shared in the ratio 50 :
50. The remaining portion of the price realized shall be shared in the ratio
60:40.
(7) all the Estate Factories, regardless of the quantum of tea leaf purchased
are bound to pay the tea leaf price per kg. Based on the gross sale proceeds
as Indicated in Para (4).
(8) the price of the green leaf payable for the month by every tea
manufacturer of any state and also the combined average monthly auction
price for CTC teas for the said estate should be prominently displayed on
the Notice Board of the tea factory for the information of all tea leaf
suppliers and one copy of the same should be sent to the local office of the
Tea Board before the IQ•h of the following month. Every registered
manufacturer shall obtain the average monthly auction price for the state in
respect of the reporting month by the 7 1h of the following month from any of
the offices of Tea Board situated at Kolkata, Guwahati, Siliguri, Coonoor,
Cochin.
(9) pending fmalisation of tea leaf price for the reporting month, the
manufacturers shan pay the tea leaf suppliers and the advance to the
extend of 75 per cent of the price paid during the previous month.
(10) the finalisation of tea leaf price payable to tea leaf suppliers for the tea
leaf purchased during any month by the manufacturers of any state of
North India shall be based on the price realized during the following (next)
month by the said manufacturer either through auction and I or non-
auction route. The tea leaf price for the tea leaf purchased during any
month by the manufacturer of any state of South India shan be based on
the price realised during the said month by the said manufacturer either
through auction and I or non-auction route.
( 11) green leaf is not purchased directly from tea growers, then every
registered manufacturer shan obtain following information from the tea leaf
suppliers to maintain additional register as per Serial No. 6 of Format-
I(Appendi.x-VW.

51
Tea Board. 2004: Vide letter no. 12 (23) LC I 2003 1 XII I 3317 on 19'hl20"' January
2004, Tea Board of India, Kolkata.

109
6. IMPLEMENTATION OF PRICE-SHARING-FORMULA IN NORTH BENGAL:
Though. the Tea Board of India implemented the Price-Sharin~-Fonnula

(PSF) on 1"' April 2004 at all India level for the protection of Small Tea Growers. it
has remained in paper as far as North Bengal is concerned (mentioned above).
Table-3.13 shows that there are 74 total BLFs in North Bengal. out of these only
24 factories submitted returns in the month of April 2004 and then onwards it
kept on reducing. The data presented here have been collected from the Tea Board
Regional Office. Siliguri on 27.01.2005. The fourth column of the Table-3.13
showing the percentage of the number of BLFs submitted returns to the Tea Board
shows that 32.43 per cent of the total number of factory submitted their return in
the month of April 2004 and 2. 70 per cent factories in the month of September
2004. No return was filled in the months from October to December in the same
year. This shows the market monopoly of the BLFs in the region and a kind of
disregard to the institutions like Tea Board of India. which is the sole authority for
research and development and policy implementation body of tea industry at the
regional level as well as national level.
TABLE-3.13
NUMBER OF BLFS SUBMITTED RETURNS AS PER PRICE-SHARING-FORMULA TO
THE TEA BOARD IN NORTH BENGAL
12004)
Months Total Number of Number of Percentage of
BLFs Factories Number of BLFs
Followed Price- Submitted Returns
Sharing-Formula to the Tea Board
April-04 74 24 32.43
May-04 74 23 31.08
June-04 74 21 28.37
July-04 74 19 25.67
Aue;ust-04 74 10 13.51
September-04 74 2 2.70
October-04 74 Nil Nil
November-04 74 Nil Nil
December-04 74 Nil Nil
Source. Unpubhshed data collected from Development Officer. Tea Board Reg10nal Office.
Siliguri on 27 1" January 2005
Table-3.14 indicates that the prices of green leaf are more or less stable
throughout the year except the month of December fetching lowest price. The year
2004 was the flrst year for the implementation of Price-Sharing-Formula and
thereby some improvement took place in the realization of green leaf price. But

110
there is a need of continuous monitoring agency by the Tea Board. which shall
protect the Small Tea Growers from the malpractices in the market.

TABLE-3.14
AVERAGE GREEN LEAF PRICE REALIZATION IN NORTH BENGAL
[2004)
Months Mar Apr May Jun Jul Auf! Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Green
Leaf
Price 7.31 6.37 7.50 7.98 7.20 7.17 8.10 7.56 6.88 5.32 7.14
(In Rs.]
Source: Unpubhshed data collected from Development Officer, Tea Board Reg10nal Office.
Siliguri, on 27th January 2005

Table-3.15 depicts that the Realized Price52 of green leaf in North Bengal
was depressing in all the months in the year 2004. Expected Price'hl of green leaf
was calculated with the Price-Sharing-Formula (mentioned earlier). It is noticed
that the Expected Price of green leaf is always higher in all the months. The
highest difference between Expected Price and Realized Price of green leaf is
represented with Rs. 2.12 per kg. in the month of April 2004, while the lowest is
found in the month of September 2004 with Rs. 0.84 per kg. This kind of picture
again requires continuous monitoring of the 'made tea' price as well as price
realization of green leaf at the ground if the Small Tea Growers of India are to be
saved. Institutional support and continuous research is the need of the day.

52
Realized Price refers to the per kg green leaf price received by a Small Tea Grower in
the market.
53
Expected Price refers to the per kg green leaf price calculated as per state auction
average notified by the Tea Board in every month [mentioned in the Price-Sharing Fonnula
section earlier)

Ill
 TABLE-3.15
IMPACT OF PRICE-SHARING-FORMULA IN NORTH BENGAL
(2004(
Months State Average Expected Price Realized Price Difference
Price of Green Leaf of Green Leaf (1)-(2)
(Per Kg.) Per Kg. Per Kg.
(1) (2)
March N.A. N.A. 7.31 N.A.
Aprtl 65.86 8.49 6.37 2.12
May 69.19 8.92 7.50 1.42
June 70.05 9.03 7.98 1.05
July 66.55 8.58 7.20 1.38
Aus;!ust 69.42 8.95 7.17 1.78
September 69.35 8.94 8.10 0.84
October 67.99 8.77 7.56 1.21
November 65.44 8.44 6.88 1.56
December N.A. N.A. 5.32 N.A.
Source: Unpublished data collected from Development Officer, Tea Board Regional Office.
Siliguri, on 27 1" January 2005
In order to articulate these interests the Small Tea Growers in the region
are coming up with Self-Help groups.
7. FORMATION OF SMALL TEA GROWER SELF-HELP GROUPS (SHGs) IN
NORTH BENGAL:
The Tea Board of India under the Tenth Plan Programme (2002-2007) has
introduced the idea of formation of Self-Help Groups among Small Tea Growers.
The late realization of the Tea Board regarding the contribution of Small Growers
in tea industry in India has made some space in policy and planning. Though. it is
still in its infant stage and the Board is unaware of the total number of Small
Growers as well as area under tea plantation yet it has enormous potentials to
redress some important issues facing the small tea Growers.
The formation of Self-Help Groups will be under the guidelines laid down by
the Tea Board as follows54:
a) Each society and its members (SHGs) should have been registered with Tea
Board.
b) Each society should have at least 50 Small Grower members under its
command and it should have been registered as per the provisions of the
Societies Act.
c) The major activities of the society should include:
(i) Extension. technology and Information dissemination.
(ii) Leaf collection, storage and transportation.
(iii) Procurement and supply of inputs such as fertilizers. plant
protection chemicals. sprayers. pruning machines etc. to the
members of the society.

54 Tea Board, 2004: Tea Plantation Development Scheme (For the Tenth Plan Period
0 l .04.2002 to 3 l .03.2007). Tea Board of India. Kolkata. p. 9

112
 The rates of subsidy for the tea producer societies are as follows 55 :
a) For purchase transport vehicle for carrying green leaves from fields to
factory subsidy will be given@ 50 per cent of the actual cost. Normally, one
such transport vehicle will be provided for every 250 registered growers
(single Society or combination of Societies).
b) For setting up of leaf collection sheds, subsidy will be provided @ 100 per
cent of the actual cost or Rs. 30,000 per shed which ever is lower. Normally,
one leaf shed for every 50 growers will be allowed.
c) The actual cost will be reimbursed for purchase of plastic crates. leaf carry
bags and weighing machines as per the requirement and the same being
recommended by the field offices of the Board.
d) For purchase of Prunning Machines subsidy will be allowed @ 25 per cent of
the unit cost subject to ceiling limit of Rs. 7500 per machine. One such
machine shall be allowed per grower. In the case of SHGs one machine shall
be allowed for every 10.12 hectares of holding.

The first Self-Help Group of Small Growers in North Bengal was registered
with the Tea Board on 21st August 2004 under the name as Panbari Small Tea
Growers' Society at Panbari, Block-Mainaguri. District-Jalpaiguri. The Amal Roy
Chowdhury, Deputy Director, Tea Board Regional Office, Siliguri. inaugurated it.
Mr. Badal Chandra Debnath is selected as the President of the Society. This group
consists of 90 members of Small Tea Growers of which 56 are registered with the
Board and rest of the Growers is not registered but application for registration has
been forwarded. The total' plantation area of the Society is 140.22 acres or 56.77
hectares which includes all the ninety Growers. Till now (as on 281" January 2005)
this Society has been given the sanction of the following materials by the Tea
Board of India in their favour56: 1. two leaf houses, 2. two numbers of weighing
scale, 3. two hundred numbers of nylon bags, and 4. hundred PVC crates. Along
with all the above-mentioned materials. Tea Board has also agreed to provide
transport vehicles to carry the green leaf to the factory.
The second Small Tea Growers SHGs in North Bengal was registered with
the Tea Board and formally inaugurated on 20U• February 2005 under title of Jai
Jalpesh Tea Growers' Society at Bhotpatty. District - Jalpaiguri 57 • This group
consists of 128 Small Tea Growers with a plantation area of 41 7 acres of

55 Ibid .• p. 13
56 Uttarbanga Sambad, 2005: Tea Board Uddoge Khushi Panbarir Khudra Cha Chasira
(In Bengali), 08.02.2005. p. 5
57 Uttarbanga Sambad, 2005: Cha Chasider Ek Dibasiya Karmasala (In Bengali).
21.02.2005. p. 5

113
Bhotpatty. Jalpesh. Helapakuri and Changrabw1dha locality of Mainaguri block of
Jalpaiguri district. This is presided over by Mr. Ratan Roy Kan~i.

Source: This is summary of the interaction and personal interview of the Convener.
United Forum of Small Tea Growers' Associations. North Bengal and the
Development Officer, Tea Board Regional Office. Siliguri.

The frrst Self-Help Group in Uttar Oinajpur district was formed in the
month of December and it was formally inaugurated on 24U• December 2005
named as Premchandgach Sabyj Small Tea Growers Society. located at
Premchandgach, Block-Chopra, District Uttar Dinajpur. The number of Small Tea
Growers is 53 and the total tea plantation area is 132 acres spreading over 4
Mou.zas (Census village) of Bhata-5, Ziakhuri-3. Bhagalpur-17. and Poakhali-4.
Though the Chopra block is the birthplace of Small Tea Growers in North Bengal.
it is late to establish even a single Self-Help Group in Uttar Dinajpur district.
Besides the above-mentioned three Self-Help Groups (basically initiated by United
Forum of Small Tea Growers' Associations). there are 3 other Small Tea Grower
Self-Help Groups have been formed during the year 2004-2005 with the help and
support of North Bengal Small Tea Planters' Association. These are situated at
Saptigwi (Bidhan Nagar). Block-Phansidewa. District-Drujeeling: Chathat. Block-
Phansidewa. District-Drujeeling: and Naxalbari.. Block-Khoribari, District-
Drujeeling.

Source: This is based on Focus Group Discussion held on 241h December 2005 at
Premchandgach, Uttar Dinqjpur.

An important out come of the pressure exerted by the grass root level
organi7...ation on the tea board of India is building the bridge between the tea board
and the small tea growers. Provision of the Agro-Extension services for the
betterment of the small tea plantations is one such step.
8. AGRO-EXTENSION SERVICES TO THE SMALL TEA GROWERS IN NORTH
BENGAL:

Much was expected from the increasing interaction between the Tea Board
and the Small Tea Grower's Organizations (STGO) but the observations from the
field tell a different story. The agro-extension services provided by the Tea Board of

114
India to the Small Tea Growers are just inadequate in nature. From the year 1999
to 2003 Tea Board organized thirty-six one day training programmes related tea
husbandry and managementsa. Earlier focus was given mainly to each block level
one-day training programme once in a year. But. at present the situation has
changed. Tea Board has further decentralized the venue of training at the very
local level from 2004 onwards. Now they arrange this at the panchayat level. Of
course. not all the panchayats are covered, most often it coincides with the village
Hats in different small tea growing areas in North Bengal. But one important
aspect is that the Small Growers are now aware of the extension activities of the
Board. In 2004-05, the Tea Board has organized twelve one-day training
programmes in the flrst phase regarding winter culture including pruning and
medicinal management in the Small Tea Plantations. These were held at different
localities in North Bengal starting from 26111 December 2004 to 9tit January 2005
(Table-3.16).
TABLE-3.16
WORKSHOP ORGANIZED BY THE TEA BOARD OF INDIA IN DIFFERENT PARTS IN
NORTH BENGAL
Serial Date Venue District
No.
I 26.12.2004 Kaialdil!hi Jalpail!uri
2 27.12.2004 Bhotpatty Jalpaiguri
3 28.12.2004 Jahuri Talma Jalpaiguri
4 29.12.2004 Konpakri J alQ_ai_g_uri
5 30.12.2004 Fata_j)ukur Ja!Q_ail!uri
6 03.01.2005 Kachakali Uttar Dinajpur
7 04.01.2005 Sonapurhat Uttar Din~ur
8 05.01.2005 Ghorul!ach Uttar Din~ur
9 06.01.2005 Islam pur Uttar Dinajpur
10 07.01.2005 Ja~gaon Uttar Dinajpur
11 08.01.2005 Raml!anj_ Uttar DinajQur
12 09.01.2005 Lichupakhri DEeelin_g
Source: Unpublished data collected from Development Officer. Tea Board Regional Office,
Siliguri
The Tea Board organized another sixteen one-day training programmes in North
Bengal on Workshop on plucking. pest management and manuring starting from
16111 February to 3rd March 2005 (Table-3.1 7) in the second phase.

!'>R Based on interaction and interview of Development Officer. Tea Board Regional Office,
Siliguri.

115
 TABLE-3.17
WORKSHOP ORGANIZED BY THE TEA BOARD OF INDIA IN DIFFERENT PARTS lN
NORTH BENGAL
Serial Date Venue District Nun1ber of
No. Small Growers
1 16.02.2005 Rail!ani Jaloail!uri 60
2 17.02.2005 BhanJ!amali Jalpail!uri 60
3 18.02.2005 Uttar Kalamati JaloaiJ!uri 50
4 19.02.2005 Satvendi Jalpail!uri 50
5 20.02.2005 Bandher Kali Jaloail!uri 60
6 21.02.2005 Kharibari Darieelinl! 50
7 22.02.2005 Daspara Uttar Dinajpur 60
8 23.02.2005 Srikrishna pur Uttar Oinaiour 50
9 24.02.2005 Matikunda Uttar Dinaiour 50
10 25.02.2005 Dariveet Uttar Dinaiour 50
11 26.02.2005 Kachakali Uttar Dinaiour 50
12 27.02.2005 HaotiaJ!ach Uttar Dinaiour 50
13 28.02.2005 Sonaour Uttar Dinajpur 50
14 01.03.2005 Premchandl!ach Uttar Dinajpur 50
15 02.03.2005 Kalal!ach Uttar Oinalour 50
-16 03.03.2005 Lichuoakri Darieelinl! 50
Source: Unpublished data collected from Development Officer. Tea Board Regional Office.
Siliguri
Besides arranging workshops. the Tea Board also recruited two scientists-
cum-field officers in the year 2005 for the technical and scientific support to the
Small Tea Growers in the entire North Bengal. They are located at Tea Research
Station at Bengdubi. They can be called for guidance and farm management either
by registered Small Tea Growers or Self-Help Groups in the region.

9. EMERGENCE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS

IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION: A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH

The history of development of Small Tea Plantations in the study area is

very interesting. It is so because. after the introduction of Small Tea Plantations.
the barren land of yesteryears has become the most valuable commodity in the
region. As per the local informants. before 1970 there were neither pineapple
cultivation nor tea plantation in this area. instead there was only wet-rice
cultivation. As mentioned earlier. this area has two types of lands. viz.. the
Nichanparas and the small raised grounds locally called the Dangis in between
them. The former were used for wet-rice cultivation. whereas the later were used
as village commons. The Dangis were mostly covered with thick jungle where
wildlife such as Bengal Tiger etc. was also found. The natural vegetation on these
raised grounds comprised of mixed tropical vegetation of Sal forests and shrubs.

116
There were thick groves of bamboo too. Most often. these were used for human
settlements and for collecting other major and minor forest products besides
grazing. This was also the time when population pressure on land was relatively
low. At that point of time the Nichanparas had more value than the Dru1gis,
particularly from agriculture point of view. Consequently, the people of the
Nichanparas were better off than the people of the Dangis. The differences were so
striking that people living in the Nichanparas did not prefer to give their daughters
in marriage to the people of the Dangis. This was mainly because of the low
agricultural productivity in the later. But today, with the introduction of Small tea
plantations, the situation is diagrammatically opposite. The possession of the
Dangis is considered a sign of prosperity and the owners have higher status in the
society. This is because of the changes in the agriculture, land use, and rural
economy.
Though. it is difficult to pin point a single factor responsible for the change
of fortune, however, it is widely believed that the process was initiated by the
Bengali immigrants from Assam in the late 70s of the last centurys9. Initially the
immigrants experimented with the cultivation of pineapple in the Dangis. The
Bengalis coming from Assam initiated this endeavor with partial success. It is
believed that these people came to Siliguri subdivision from Assam due to some
trouble there, particularly because of Bengal-Kheda (anti-Bengali) movement in
Assam. Arjun Paul was the frrst person to start pineapple cultivation in Chopra
block district Uttar Oinajpur in 1970'sGO. They were gro'\ving pineapple
successfully in Assam and their economy was much better than the others. But
due to socio-economic and political tension, they had to shift to other congenial
areas to pursue such cultivation. In this process of search for better land, they
came to Siliguri and started purchasing the Dangis on the outskirts of Siliguri
town, particularly Bidhan Nagar locality of Drujeeling district, Rqjganj locality of
Jalpaiguri district, and Islampur locality of Uttar Dinajpur district of North
BengalG 1 • In fact, they can be called pioneer pineapple cultivators in the area. As
opposed to this the Deshi people of the area could not develop the pineapple
59 The key infonnants at different localities of Chopra block in the district Uttar Dinajpur
infonned this.
60 R. Malty. 2000: Uttar Banglay Anaraser Chas - Sambhabana. Samassa 0 Pratikar (In
Bengali), Saar Samachar, Vol. 37 No. 4, p. 56
61 The key infom1ants provide this infonnatlon during the field survey.

117
cultivation for want of adequate know-how needed for pineapple cultivation. In the
beginning, the new comers did not pass their trade secrets of pineapple cultivation
to others. These immigrants brought the pineapple plants from Assam and started
cultivating in the new environment. After four to five years of cultivation. a new
variety emerged in the changed agro-climatic conditions. Gradually Deshi people
also leamed and started taking up pineapple cultivation. Due to this, Bidhan
Nagar emerged as a major pineapple market in the region. Bidhan Nagar. situated
along the National Highway No. 31, consequently, there emerged an array of
pineapple Arats62 (place where seller and buyer meet and exchange of commodity
takes place). Till today Bidhan Nagar is sole market for pineapple in the region. It
was mentioned during the discussion with the Aratwalas (owner of Arats) that
initially they started their business under thatched houses, but today. all have
been replaced by the modem RCC buildings. It is indicative that the pineapple
market has grm.vn substantially over the years. Byers from distant urban centres
such as Kolkata. Kanpur, Delhi, Nagpur, Bihar Sheriff etc. come here directly to the
Arats and purchase pineapple. This has brought in multiplying effects in the local
economy. Services have started in many directions, to mention a few like hotels
and lodges, garages for repairing vehicles. cinema halls etc. are a common sight in
the town.
It is worth mentioning here that· the actual benefits of pineapple cultivation
did not reach to the fanners and the middlemen comered most of the benefits,
which should have otherwise gone to the pineapple growers. Due to the gross.
perishable nature of the products and highly localized market of the pineapple the
cultivators had weak bargaining power against the well-organ.ized middlemen. It
was also reported that many a time the farmers were paid much lower price for
their produce than the cost incurred by them. This led to large-scale indebtedness
among the cultivators. So, to break open the debt trap laid by the middlemen,
majority of the pineapple growers decided to opt for small tea plantation.

62 Arat is a place where pineapple seller and buyer meet and exchange of commodity takes
place and usually the owner of the Arat is a mediator between the two of seller and buyer
and provide service by receiving commission - Aratwala is basically a commission agent
from both the sides of pineapple grower and the purchaser - they are better be designated
as middleman.

118
 As per the local informants and record available with the village
Panchayats. tea cultivation started to counter the menace created by the market
uncertainties. which was also the handiwork of the middlemen. Today. most of the
Small Tea Plantations developed. are spread over a hooked-shape region
surrounding the northem tip of Bangladesh. Earlier, the interior parts of Chopra
block in Uttar Oinajpur district. Bidhan Nagar locality of Phansidewa block in
Drujeeling district and Rqjganj block in Jalpaiguri district had predominantly pine
apple cultivation. These blocks share common intemational border (Bangladesh)
and homogeneous in topographical features. Perhaps the above-mentioned
northem tip of Bangladesh (Tetulia Police Station of Dinajpur district of
Bangladesh) carries the physiographic similarity. Tea plantation is also common in
these areas of which is directly seen if one stands on the Border Road. It was also
reported by the local tea growers that in recent years. farmers in the bordering
area of Bangladesh too have started tea cultivation. It was but natural and well
expected but this has adverse repercussions as far as tea cultivation in North
Bengal is concem. Theft of tea plants and bushes by the Bangladeshis is becoming
a routine feature in the region. which has also contributed in adding new
dimensions to the border conflicts.
Since farmers on the other side of the border have also resorted to tea
cultivation encroachment upon the no mans' land (land between the line of actual
control between India and Bangladesh) by the Bangladeshi fanners is also
becoming more frequent. With the introduction of Small Tea Plantations people
have started cultivating the plots (fields) up to the zero line. It is also evident from
location of Small Tea Plantations on either side of the border. In India and
Bangladesh most of the farms are right on the zero line. Initially, the Indian
government had planned not to allow tea cultivation in the land lying vacant
between the fence (fencing is constructed with a distance of ISO metres from the
zero-line) and the zero-line. Later on the Home Ministry resolved the issue and
people were finally allowed to cultivate the plots (fields) up to the zero-line. With
the introduction of fencing people are always in conflict with Border Security Force
(BSF). particularly the farm owners that have the land on the eastem side of the
fence.

119
 There are five community development blocks in lslampur subdivision. i.e.
Chopra. lslampur, Goalpokhar-1. Goalpokhar-11. and Karandighi. The new tea
gardens are distributed in three blocks only. i.e. Chopra. lslampur. and
Goalpok.har-1. There are two categories of New Tea Gardens are found in lslampur
subdivision, viz. Small Tea Gardens and Big Tea Gardens'>3. The total number of
Small Tea Gardens is 1930 and out of which more than 92 per cent are located in
Chopra block (Table-3.18). The total area of Small Tea Gardens in Islampur
subdivision is 7333.87 acres. The block-wise distribution of area of Small Tea
Gardens is 88 per cent, 11 per cent, and 1 per cent in Chopra. lslampur. and
Goalpok.har:-1 block respectively (Figure-3.2). The number of Big Tea Gardens in
Islampur subdivision is 75 and the total area is 17034.05 acres. The block-wise
distribution of the number of Big Tea Gardens is 63 per cent. 25 per cent. and 12
per cent and the distribution of area is 55 per cent. 38 per cent. and 7 per cent in
Chopra. Islampur. and Goalpok.har-1 block respectively.

TABLE-3.18
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEW TEA GARDENS IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION
(As on 30 06 2001)
Small Tea Gardens Big Tea Gardens
Blocks [Up to 24.20 acres] (Above 24.20 acres)
Number of Area Number of Area
Small (In acre) Large (In acre)
Growers Growers
Chopra 1776 6455.55 47 9382.00
(92.02) (88.02) (62.66) (55.07)
Islam pur 142 787.19 19 6548.74
(7.32) (10.73) (25.33) (38.44)
Goalpokhar-1 12 91.13 09 1103.31
(0.62) (1.24) (12.00) (6.47)
Total 1930 7333.87 75 17034.05
(100.0) (100.0) (100.0) (100.0)
Source: Unpublished data collected from Sub-diVISional Land & Land Reforms Office 2004,
lslampur, Uttar Oinajpur

In the above-mentioned three sections. it is understood that Small Tea

Plantations are not of recent origin in the world arena as is the case in India. In
South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Kamataka Small Tea Growers
made their presence as early as 1960s. but in North Eastem region of India

63Small Tea Gardens, are defined by a land holding up to 24.20 acres and Big
Tea Gardens, are defined by a land holding above 24.20 acres by the Land
Reforms Department, Govemment of West Bengal.

120
particularly in Assam. Tripura and West Bengal they emerged in early 1990s.
Besides this. recently these Small Tea Growers have also spread beyond the
traditional tea growing areas in India and to mention a few new states like Bihar.
Uttaranchal. Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim. Manipur. Mizoram. Meghalaya. and
Nagaland are coming up in the tea map of India. As per the available sources and
estimation it is highlighted that as many as 15 states are identified as small-tea
growing states.

121
 I

Distribution of Small Tea Plantations

in Islampur Subdivision

+ s

CHOI"'<I\ ISLI\MI>t.Jt< lO<.JJ\U'Ot\:ltAk -1

·_~NO . OF' SMALL GROWERS _0AREA IN ACRES.

0 10 20 30 Kms.

Figur e 3 .2
 Countries like Kenya. Sri Lanka. and Indonesia have initiated many policies
and programmes for the benefits of small tea growers. Institutions developed in
these countries have been playing a major role for the growth and development of
Small Tea Plantations particularly regulatory measures on marketing green leaf.
scientific agricultural practices and farm management. extension services to the
Small Tea Growers to mention a few. and through their consistent efforts these
plantation have flourished as viable units. Such initiatives are still lacking in
India. In the year 2004, Tea Board of India introduced Price-Sharing-Formula
between the Small Tea Growers and Bought-Leaf Factories. in a similar fashion
existing in Kenya and Sri Lanka, these are still in an infancy stage and it is
premature to expect any meaningful result. Moreover, the agro-Extension services
are old-fashioned though the Small Tea Growers are receptive of new agricultural
technology.
Tea Board of India is yet to explore the real estimation of this small-scale
sector. either the number and area of Small Tea Growers and or their production
level. As of now. in India, only 56.77 per cent Small Tea Growers are registered
with the Board. At the regional level. the picture is more depressing i.e. in North-
East India has only 12.39 per cent Small Tea Growers registered where as it is
16.99 per cent in case of North India. In South India. 90.84 per cent of the Small
Tea Growers are registered with the Board and the reason behind this is the longer
existence of the Small Tea Plantations in these states. Due to the prolonged
legalisation process, most of the small farms are not recipient of institutional
support and credit. Regulatory measures on green leaf are in weakest form and
Bought-Leaf Factories have monopoly over the Small Tea Growers.

123