Climate Change Challenges: Tea Board India Proposes project for State’s Small Growers

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Tea Board India has proposed to undertake a project on ‘Building Climate Resilience in Tea Value Chain for Small Tea Growers in Assam’ with an aim to prevent adverse impact of global warming in the State’s tea industry.

The project will be implemented under the Centre’s flagship scheme namely the ‘National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change’ (NAFCC). The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is responsible for implementation of the adaptation projects under NAFCC. The DPR of the project for Assam tea industry after being finalized will be sent to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) for the final seal of approval. The Tea Board on Thursday organized a stakeholders’ meet in the city here for further preparation and submission of concept note to NABARD and MoEE&CC.

A press release issued by the office of Tea Board India on Thursday stated that climate change is one of the biggest threats the world is facing and requires urgent attention in addressing the challenges.

“The changing climate and its adverse impact such as continued increase in temperature, erratic rainfall, prolonged drought is seen to be causing disruption like never before and if left unaddressed would lead to issues of sustainability of the tea industry which at present supports more that 1.16 million workers. More than 3.5 million livelihoods depends on tea,” the release said.

The release said that Assam has also been under the severe threat of climate change and the tea sector has been impacted. The small tea growers do now not have sufficient access to scientific knowledge to adapt to the climate change and economic capability to invest in improved agricultural techniques to counter the impact of climate change. The small tea growers sector is considered more vulnerable than the organized sector.

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