Minister Tage Taki asks tea growers to adopt organic cultivation methods

 OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture and Horticulture minister Tage Taki has exhorted the tea growers in the state to move towards becoming fully organic in their cultivation methods. Speaking at the first Arunachal Tea Festival held at The Lhoba Resort on the banks of Siang River at Pasighat in East Siang district on Tuesday, the minister said that growers should learn about economically feasible cultivation methods such as smaller plantations, and to inform the government about the challenges & suggestions that they may have. Organised by the Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Marketing Board (APAMB), the Arunachal Tea Festival brought together tea growers, promoters, and enthusiasts from across the state, official sources informed here.

The festival organisers said that the event was aimed to not just celebrate the legacy of tea cultivation of the state but also to provide a platform for tea cultivators to exchange ideas from each other and learn ways to improve their products. “We should not be left behind as the world moves to organic cultivation,” Taki said.

The minister was also critical of some of the existing forest-related policies of the country, stating that currently they do not support harnessing of forest products when speaking about the delays in obtaining forest clearances for tea plantations.

State Agriculture Director Anong Lego stated that tea growers in the state have not been able to avail benefits from the Tea Board of India due to hurdles in obtaining certain forest clearances.

He also informed that around 150 hectares of tea plantations in the state are currently growing their tea organically, without the use of chemical fertilizers.

Following a tea tasting session with Romen Gogoi, senior tea taster with the Tea Research Association of the Jorhat-based Tocklai Tea Research Institute, tips were given to tea growers about how to improve their end products. Gogoi said that the organic tag must mean continued practice of organic methods.

On the policy front, Gogoi said that such events like the Arunachal Tea Festival should be held regularly and experts should be brought in on a regular basis to train and provide feedback to tea growers to help them with the cultivation and processing of tea.

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