Tea cultivation brings fortune for Panchagarh farmers

RANGPUR, July 3 (BSS): Tea cultivation has been expanding fast boosting economy of Panchagarh to bring fortune for local farmers and creating large number of job opportunities for the poor cutting poverty and ushering in a new hope for their future generations.
Over the years beginning since 2000, the big, small and marginal farmers and investors have been showing keen interests in tea farming, now considered as a cash crop in the sub-Himalayan district.
According to Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) sources, tea production has been increasing continuously prompting faster growth of the sector to change socioeconomic condition of the common people, farmers and poor people, including working women.
Assistant Tea Development Officer at BTB's Panchagarh Regional Office Minhajur Rahman said tea farming increases on 'small-scale gardening basis' there since beginning of its cultivation launched in 2000 by the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"A record quantity of 1.421 million (14.21 lakh) kg of fine quality tea was produced in 2014 against 1.455 million kg in 2013 and 1.141 million kg produced in 2012 in Panchagarh district," he said predicting further increase of tea production during the current year.
According to BTB sources in Panchagarh, the average tea production is increasing by 100,000 kg annually since 2005 as its small-scale gardening basis cultivation has already become profitable and popular among the local farmers.
Tea in now being cultivated on about 3,500 acres of land in 526 tea gardens, including 26 big estates, 17 medium-sized and 483 small-scale gardens in Panchagarh as its cultivation has been expanding in adjoining Thakurgaon, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts.
Six companies, Tentulia Tea Company Ltd, Kazi and Kazi Tea Factory, Kartoa Tea Associate Ltd, Green Care Agro Limited, Green Energy Tea Factory and North Bengal Tea Factory have been processing tea in Panchagarh now.
The tea sector has been improving socioeconomic condition and empowerment of the women creating employment for over 12,000 people, including 8,500 poor, distressed and unemployed women so far in the sub-Himalayan district. Small-scale farmers Abdur Rahman, Mozahedul Hassan, Esahaq Ali, Golam Kibria and Motiar Rahman said small-scale tea farming is becoming popular bringing more profits than other crops and the local farmers are expanding its cultivation every year.
Talking to BSS, female labourers Rozina, Motahera Khatun, Aklima, Shukla Rani and Kulsum of Tentulia upazila said they are earning daily wages of Taka 200 on an average as plucking workers in the tea gardens or fields in Panchagarh to lead a better life.
Panchagarh Sadar upazila chairman Anwar Sadat said tea cultivation on 'small-scale gardening basis' has got a stronger footage in Panchagarh as the farmers are earning better profits through selling green tea leaves to the tea processing factories.
Social workers Akhterun Nahar Saki of Panchagarh said tea farming could be expanded further with setting up of more tea processing industries, competitive markets for green tea leaves and resolving some other problems.
According to Project Director of Kartoa Tea Associate Limited Shah Alam Bhuiyan, the expanding tea sector will definitely create more jobs in future for local people, including female labourers, to eradicate job crisis in Panchagarh.
Former president of Panchagarh Chamber Iqbal Kaiser Mintu predicted tremendous prospects of the expanding tea sector which will boost further to enhance economic activities and create job opportunities in the sub-Himalayan district.