BLFs and small tea growers: Assam government doing its bit to resolve the crisis

Bought leaf factories and small tea growers at loggerheads

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The state government is trying its utmost to resolve the confrontation between the bought leaf factories (BLFs) and the small tea growers, sparked by the former’s refusal to buy green leaf from the latter over the issue of pesticide residue. The BLFs have now issued a deadline to the government to come out with a tangible SOP by June 1, failing which they have warned that they would stop purchasing green leaf from the small tea growers. On the other hand, the small tea growers have termed the decision by the BLFs as one-sided and warned that they will not be to blame if the situation deteriorates.

Sources said that, to resolve the crisis, the industry minister Bimal Bora, chief secretary Ravi Kota, and others are putting in their best efforts to come up with a solution. Minister Bora has taken up the issue with the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, while the chief secretary has done so with the Tea Board of India. Moreover, the state government is discussing the issue with all stakeholders in a bid to solve it.

The whole situation escalated after the Tea Board warned of punitive action against BLFs in the event of the presence of any pesticide residue in the made tea produced by them. The BLFs, in turn, said that no chemicals are added during the manufacturing process and placed the blame on the small tea growers, who are alleged to be using such pesticides. As the pesticide residue originates from the green leaf supplied by the small growers, the BLFs decided to stop purchasing green leaf from them.

Sources said that of all the tea that is produced in the country, around 25% comes from the green leaf supplied by the small tea growers in Assam. With such a large portion of tea coming from Assam, in the event of any issue with the quality, the name of Assam tea is likely to be besmirched, they pointed out. So, it is inevitable that the issue with the green leaf provided by the small growers should be resolved sooner rather than later. It is also not the solution for BLFs to stop purchasing the green leaf from the small growers immediately without giving them time to rectify the issue with pesticides. Moreover, there should be enough laboratories to check the presence of pesticide residue in the green leaf.

Finally, it is apparent that all stakeholders should examine the crux of the problem and come up with a solution. The central government and the Tea Board of India also have to provide support to ensure that standards in tea production are met, as the reputation of Indian tea is at stake.

 Also Read: Scanty rainfall and lack of irrigation deal a blow to small tea growers (sentinelassam.com)

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