Govt. sidelines tea smallholders
View(s):By Sunimalee Dias
Tea smallholders have expressed concern that the government continues to sideline their requirements and the latest offer of 25,000 metric tonnes (MT) of fertiliser at subsidised prices is largely insufficient to meet growers’ needs.
Galle-Kalutara Tea Smallholders Association President Ushan Samarasinghe told the Sunday Times Business that the recent subsdised fertiliser announced by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is a mere 20 per cent of the total annual requirement.
He noted that this is also provided “only once” to the industry which is an “incomplete subsidy programme”.
The government needs to identify the total annual requirements and establish a transparent mechanism to distribute it fairly across multiple cycles to all growers, Mr. Samarasinghe said.
Based on scientific data from the Tea Research Institute (TRI) the total tea cultivation area of approximately 267,000 hectares requires at least 120,000 MT of fertiliser annually. Fertiliser should be applied three times a year, necessitating 40,000 MT per application.
In this respect, it is clearly evident that the government proposed 25, 000 MT is insufficient to cover even 60 per cent of the requirement for a single application.
Mr. Samarasinghe pointed out that since only a limited stock of fertiliser is made available at subsidised prices, only those purchasing it first will have an advantage over the subsidy. “It is unfair to provide relief to only a segment of growers engaged in the same industry,” he said.
Providing this “only once” and in limited quantities means the grower is unable to continuously provide the required nourishment to the crop throughout the year due to the restrictions on their financial position.
In the past as well he pointed out the government sidelined the tea smallholders as they continue to pay extra only to workers employed on the Regional Plantation Companies (RPC) estates.
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