Sustainable Livelihood for Small Tea Growers through CSR Factors for Shifting to Tea Cultivation Positive Economics of Scale Low-risk owing to longevity of the product Low man-days compared to vegetable cultivation Availability of subsidies at various level of cultivation ’Demonstration Effect’ of the tea cultivation Financial support and development schemes for new tea cultivation from Tea Board
Nature of Production The average leaf production in small tea holdings of Nilgiris is 50006000 kilograms per acre annually.9 The figures vary depending on climate, and maintenance of the gardens. Small growers give their tea leaves to the nearest BLF through leaf agents. A few small growers deal with the cooperative factory. In spite of the relatively low prices they get from the factory, timely payments and reliability are motivating factors for their dealings with the co-operative. As one of the growers says, “Though we get lower prices from the co-operative than we would on the market, we get it steadily and stocks are not sent back during peak season due to over supply. It is common that local leaf agents often deny taking green leaves when there is high supply”10 The factory also provides time-bound loans and other financial assistance to growers who are members of the coMajor problems in tea operative factory. They also get ‘made cultivation tea’ at lower rates than the local retail Low prices market.11 Insufficient funding for proper
Most of the small growers share maintenance concerns about low price, insufficient Low quality of the tea leaf funding and maintenance being some of Lack of associations/networks the major problems they are facing at present in tea cultivation. As price and quality are correlated, low-quality green leaf is cited as the reason for the low prices that growers get for their produce. On the other hand, small growers share that owing to low realisation, which is often below the expenditure they have incurred on cultivation, it is unaffordable for them to focus on the quality of leaf. Maintaining consistency in quality requires greater investments such as timely spraying of medicine, pruning, and timely application of fertilizers. 41