Northeast Confederation Small tea grower’s Association said,” With due respect, we hereby request you to introduce a mechanism for a-fair and remunerative price of green tea leaves to protect the small tea growers from market price-volatility. As far as we know, Minimum Support Price (MSP) is applicable to 22 agricultural crops and is a price guarantee set by the Government to protect farmers from price drops in the open market, thereby ensuring fair price to farmers for their produce. “
The body added, “Another successful and time tested mechanism to ensure fair price to sugarcane farmers is Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP). Tea is half agriculture and half industry. Small tea growers engage in the cultivation and harvesting of tea leaves, which is a form of agriculture / farming. We therefore, earnestly request you to introduce Minimum Support Price (MSP) or Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for green tea leaves produced by Small Tea Growers (STGs). The present Price Sharing Formula (PSF) or declaration of Average Green Leaf Price (AGLP) district wise & month wise by the Tea Board is not helping the tea growers; rather it is creating rift between tea growers and tea manufacturers. We would also like to request you to extend all schemes under the Agriculture Ministry to the small tea growers. Small tea growers need more support from Government in providing plucking machine, i pruning machine, fencing and irrigation. It will be of great help if fertilizer and approved pesticides can be provided to STGs at a special rate.”