From Tea to "Tamul": The Quiet Exit of Assam’s Small Growers

The lush green scenery of tea gardens throughout Assam is has not changed drastically, the dew still settles on the trees early each morning, people are still walking between narrow paths between rows of trees, and everything is still the same as it has been for many years; however, when you look beneath the surface of what you see, it shows a change that has been happening over time. Tea gardens have slowly but surely been abandonned! The new crops being planted in their place are areca nut or Betel Nut saplings! Even though this transformation appears to be small and short-lived, it is indicative of a vast economic disruption that is occurring in Assam today! The reason for the change in crop is not a desire for something new but a necessary step for survival.

The Small Tea Growers account for about 50% of the total tea production in Assam; however, the majority of these growers are primarily at the lowest tier of the industry because they do not have access to auctioning and processing facilities, forcing them to sell their green leaves to middlemen, who exercise no pricing control over them.

A crop that no longer supports the livelihood of producers.

The majority of Assam's tea is produced by small tea growers. However, many of these producers exist in the fringes of Assam’s tea industry because they lack access to auction houses and tea factories. This means that they must sell their green tea leaves to intermediaries at prices that they cannot control.

In a recent interview, one small grower expressed the increasing uncertainty they have regarding the production of tea. Importantly, the price for green tea leaves can fluctuate from ₹10 per kg (week 1) to ₹15 per kg (week 2) without apparent reason. Due to increased production costs (e.g., fertilizer and pesticides), irregular weather patterns, and slow payment cycles to farmers, it has become increasingly unviable to grow tea.

"The increases in auction prices do not affect us in the slightest," the grower said.

"We never receive the benefits."

This disconnect between the market and the farmer is the result of structural issues. The majority of the growers do not have access to:

1. Auction price data

2. Quality grading information

3. District price comparisons

Intermediaries have superior market information and bargaining power. The disparity is substantial.

Why Tamul is Considered Safer

Areca nut (tamul) cultivation provides a degree of certainty that is not present in the production of tea.

Tamul:

Provides consistent local demand

Requires less work (daily maintenance)

Provides large sums at seasonal harvest

Involves fewer intermediaries

For small-scale producers (farmers), the result is less risk and more clearly defined income expectations.

The producer explained: "With tamul, I know how much I can expect to make. In comparison, with tea, some months I won't make anything."

Decisions regarding production are not made with emotion. It takes some time (years) to produce a crop of tea. Since it is expensive and culturally significant to abandon a tea crop once it has been planted, when production stops covering the grower's basic needs, emotion is not as large of a factor.

The situation that is developing isn't a sudden collapse of the industry or dramatic uprising.

Instead, it is a gradual exit of agrarianists from the tea industry.

Tea producers are gradually exiting the industry with no fanfare and without mobilization. It is this silence surrounding the exit that makes it easy for everyone to ignore the problem.

The issue is not with tea as a crop; rather, it is with the structure of the marketplace.

For smaller scale producers:

1. Have no transparency in pricing

2. Have no control over grading of their product

3. Depend on verbal agreements

4. Are not protected by any formal system

As demand for tea worldwide increases, so do the number of producers affected by stagnant income.

Assam’s tea industry is not collapsing.It is slowly losing its smallest pillars.

And when farmers leave quietly,the damage has already been done.