Innovative field practices for sustainable development in tea industry

By Gamini WARUSHAMANA

S. Kalyani (53) has been working as a tea plucker in Alton Estate in Upcot, Maskeliya for the past 39 years and she followed the same traditional tea plucking system which was followed by her ancestors over centuries. However, in 2010 the estate management introduced new tools and working culture to increase productivity by mechanising of tea plucking and to improve the working conditions, positively changing their attitudes towards the trade.

over 58 percent pluckers at Alton Estate use the new technology

As a result Kalyani's working conditions improved in the recent past and her traditional dress code has changed from cloth and jacket and polythene used to cover the body to water proof bottoms, a T-shirt, gloves and boots.

Her traditional heavy bamboo plucking basket weighing 2-3 kg has been replaced by a new 600g weight specially designed 'Collapsible Tea Plucking Basket' and she now uses a pair of shears to pluck tea leaves, which has tremendously increased production.

"I am a grandmother and at first I felt shy to wear a pair of trousers and T-shirts at this age and also felt that hand plucking was convenient. However, we gradually got used to new tools and working practices and today we have realised their value.

With the use of these tools my monthly income has tripled and we can pluck more tea leaves compared to what we plucked by hand" Kalyani said.

In 2010, the senior manager of Alton Estate Hemantha Kahatapitiya took a bold decision to radically change the working practice in tea estates and use new technology which is now readily available after so many decades but this has not attracted much attention in the tea industry.

Today 215 tea pluckers or 58 percent of the pluckers at Alton Estate use a pair of shears, plucking baskets, gloves and uniforms while working.

Kahatapitiya has learnt the art of changing attitudes and introducing new concepts to estate workers who believe the work to be ana arduous task. "I tested these new tools when I was the manager at Gouravilla Estate, and it was successful. We gradually increased the use of shears.

Twenty six percent of pluckers in Gouravilla Estate began using the new techniques. It is true that the introduction of new concepts is difficult for uneducated estate workers but once they realise the value, specially financial gain they get, they go for the changes", he said.

At Alton Estate he used small groups of young pluckers and they were trained to use shears, new plucking baskets and uniforms were introduced and helped to change their attitudes. Productivity increased and they began to earn higher incomes and later the others also adopted and began to use these tools, he said.

Assistant Manager, Dilroy Manohar	Senior Manager Hemantha Kahatapitiya,

"Last year wages increased by 30 percent while Net Sales Price (NSP) dropped. This has been a serious blow to the industry and as a result most of the plantation companies last year incurred huge losses. However, we managed to reduce our losses due to significant improvement in productivity with the use of new technology," Kahatapitiya said.

Higher cost of production is one of the major constraints that makes it difficult for Ceylon tea to compete in international markets.

The average cost of production of tea in Sri Lanka is about $ 2.2 per kg which is reported to be the highest among tea growing countries where the COP ranges from $0.75-1.35 per kg in other competing countries. Last month the cost of production was estimated as $3. per kg while NSA has fallen to $3.2 per kg.

In the cost component, labour costs accounts for 60 percent of the cost of production and is continuously increasing as strong trade unions are capable of winning wage increase as the cost of living rises.

According to the Officer-in-Charge of the Tea Research Institute (TRI) Low country station, Ratnapura, Dr. M.A. Wijerathne, the land and labour productivity of tea in Sri Lanka is reported to be less than that of other tea growing countries such as India and Kenya. Researchs advocate to increase labour productivity to face the problem.

However, there are limited options in labour productivity increase in this highly labour intensive industry and there is a limit in increasing output per person, specially in plucking green tea leaves. Dr.Wijerathne is also the inventor of these technologies and he holds the patent rights for selective tea harvester (shear) and Collapsible Tea Plucking Basket.

The selective tea harvester is a shear attached to a small tray. The tea leaves cut are collected into the tray and the level of cut (selection) can be measured by the height of the tray. Traditionally the pluckers use a long stick to find the level or select leaves.

The Collapsible Tea Plucking Basket is a specially designed canvas basket weighing less than 600 grams. Pluckers can collect around 6 kg of tea leaves to the basket, a reasonable amount that a plucker can hold.

The basket is fitted to the shoulders and hip as well as to the head by a cap attached to the basket. Usually tea pluckers fixed their cane baskets to the head and this traditional practice was also considered in designing the basket. Dr. Wijerathne said that the new plucking practices improves labour productivity as well as the quality of tea.

Dr. Wijerathne said that these tools are available and have been commercially produced since 1997, and proved that they are highly successful in increasing labour productivity.

Young tea pluckers equipped with the new technology,

However, these tools have not attracted the attention of tea smallholders or planters and attempts to introduce them failed as pluckers prefer the conventional hand plucking practices. Changing attitudes and practices used over centuries by the people is not easy and it is common for the uneducated poor workers in the tea estates, tea smallholders as well as planters to reject the new concepts. However, now the demand for shears is increasing and estate companies have started to introduce the technology. Last year over 5000 units of shears were sold. Innovative field practices in tea plantations is the way forward for sustainable development in the industry, Dr. M.A. Wijerathne said.

These factors together with lower income have caused social issues and the tea industry is no longer an attractive industry for the younger generation. As a result there is a severe labour shortage in the plantation sector, especially in the large estates-owned by plantation companies.

On the day we visited Alton Estate the plucking Kangani T.Chandrasekar said that he needs 75 pluckers a day for the division he had planned, but only 43 pluckers turned up.

This situation is the same every day, he said. Although there are around 700 workers on the payroll, only 50-60 percent of them attend work.

As a result of the delay in plucking the quality of made tea deteriorates. If the traditional plucking method is used, 12-14 pluckers are needed If the shears are used only 7-8 pluckers were needed following the new practice, the yield of Alton estate has increased by around 300 Kg, Kahatapitiya said.

Although the plantation companies charge that the cost of labour is high, it does not mean plantation workers were living comfortable lives. In Sri Lanka, poverty is the highest in the plantation sector and the situation is gradually improving. A labourer is entitled to Rs.572 per day including EPF and ETF. Without these deductions, the daily wage is only Rs.515, and this is the lowest in all industries.

However, plantation workers, especially tea pluckers can earn an extra income by plucking more than the standard amount- the minimum amount pluck per day.

The norm is 18kg per day and Rs.19.50 per kg pay for every extra kg plucked in a day. Young pluckers such as S. Sevendi (24) are using the new tools and have increased their earnings. Sevendi who has studied up to the GCE Ordinary Level said that she can pluck around 20 kg extra or around 40 kg total a day and earn around Rs.18,000 monthly. During the crop season the total amount that could be plucked per day increases to around 60 -70 kg, she said.

Experienced pluckers who have accustomed themselves to the new tools can pluck around 100 kg per day, the Assistant manager of Alton Estate Dilroy Manohar said.

Manohar assured that the use of shears does not reduce the yield of a tea bush. "According to our statistics there is an increase in the yield", he said. In the 2010/11 financial year, our yield was 1604 kg/ he and it is higher compared to 1453kg/he in 2009/10. In the 2011/12 financial year we had already exceeded last year's yield and this year's yield will be over 1800 kg/he, the highest in the estate, Manohar said.