“A Study on the Problems and Prospects of Small Tea Growers with Special Reference to Margherita Area of Tinsukia District”

Abstract

Small tea growers in Margherita area have immense potential from the point of providing both employment and generating revenue. It can be a lucrative profession and can play a vital role in improving the socio-economic condition of the economically backward state.The Small Tea growers are an important and integral part of the tea industry of Assam. But small tea growers have been confronted with multiple existential challenges via finance, land problem, labour supply,lack of training in tea culture and practices, marketing of green leaves, natural disasters like flood, erosion, climate change, poor infrastructural facilities. The present paper tries to highlight the problems and prospects of small tea growers with special reference to Margherita area of Tinsukia district and makes analysis on the basis of the following criteria viz percentage of the small tea growers in the area under study, area of plantation held by the tea grower, production per year in kg from the tea estate owned by the small tea growers, source of finance, cost of labour, amount of subsidies received, percentage of profit earned, tea growers contribution towards the socio-economic development, problem faced from labours working in the tea garden under study, factors which contributes to their income etc. and for analysis the researcher has conducted its study on the basis of primary data where the information were collected through well framed questionnaire meant for small tea growers and secondary sources like journals, newspaper, articles, government reports, websites etc. The paper also presents certain findings of the study and provide various recommendation in order to improve the status of small tea growers.