Impetus to improve productivity of tea small holdings

by L.S.A. Wedaarachchi

The Tea Small Holdings Development Authority (TSHDA) has launched an islandwide program to improve the productivity of the tea small holdings to mark its thirtieth anniversary.

Under this program the best tea small holdings and the best tea small holding development societies will receive national awards.

The chairman TSHDA N.P. Kariyawasam said that the details of the national awards competition can be obtained from the regional offices and the head office. According to the chairman the awards will be presented to three categories of tea small lands viz those less than one hectare, one to five hectares and over five hectares tea lands.

The TSHDA has eight regional offices in Galle, Peradeniya, Kegalle, Matara, Bandarawela, Matugama, Ratnapura and Gampola.

A specimen of the application has been published in the national newspapers and all applications should be forwarded before June 30, 2007. The panel of judges of the competition are scheduled to visit the lands of the applicants after the closing date.

At present the tea small holder sector of Sri Lanka is a strong farmer group in the national economy. Around 397,000 tea small holders are engaged in cultivation of tea covering approximately 400,000 holdings in 14 administrative districts in the island. More than three million people earn their livelihood directly or indirectly by the tea small holding sector.

"As an organisation providing services to a large and special community, it had become necessary for the authority to function as a strong organisation performing a big role to develop personal entrepreneurship maintaining a high level of effectiveness. To perform this task all staff was enlightened of an operational program, the chairman said.

The Tea Small Holdings Development Authority was established on February 1, 1977. Development of tea small holdings, increase of production, marketing activities and improvement of productivity are the main objectives of the authority. All tea lands between 20 perches and 50 acres under private ownership are considered as tea small holdings.

According to the latest reports of 'Census of Tea Small Holdings' and Agricultural profile of the corporate tea sector the estimated area under tea is 221,969 hectares. The private sector manages 59.62 per cent of the total tea lands and the remaining is managed by the Corporate Management Sector (36.76%) and the state sector (3.63%).

The contribution by the tea smallholders (private sector) to Sri Lanka's tea production has been highly acclaimed by the authorities. It is estimated that 64.9 per cent out of the total production is produced by tea small holders.

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