RANGPUR, Aug 1 (BSS) : Expanding tea cultivation has been enhancing economy of the sub-Himalayan Panchagarh district bringing solvency to the local people and changing their life and living ushering in a new hope for their future generations.
Over the years since 2000, farmers at all levels side by side with big investors have been showing their utmost 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 a faster growth of the sector to change economic condition of the common people, including small and marginal farmers as well as poor women.
Tea Development Officer at BTB's Panchagarh Regional Office Amir Hossain said commercial tea farming continues increasing on 'small-scale gardening basis' there since beginning of its cultivation launched in 2,000 by the then Prime Mistier Sheikh Hasina.
"A record quantity of 1.4551 million kg fine quality tea was produced in 2013, higher by 27.48 per cent against 1.141475 million kg produced in 2012 in Panchagarh," he said adding that the production might be around 1.8 million kg during the current year.
The average tea production is increasing by 100,000 kg annually in Panchagarh since the year 2005 as the small-scale gardening basis cultivation of the cash crop has already become profitable and popular among the local farmers, he added.
According to local BTB sources in Panchagarh, tea in now being cultivated on over 3,110 acres land including 866 acres of 405 small-scale farmers, 163 acres of 15 medium-scale farmers and 2,081 acres of 21 bigger tea estates.
The growing tea sector enhances socioeconomic empowerment of the women also through creating employment for over 10,500 people including 7,500 poor, distressed and unemployed women so far in the sub-Himalayan district.
Commercial tea cultivation on 'small-scale gardening basis' has already got a stronger footage in Panchagarh as the small, marginal and medium farmers are earning better profits through selling green tealeaves to the tea processing factories.
Project Director of Kartoa Tea Associate Ltd Shah Alam Bhuiyan and Chief Operating Officer of Kazi & Kazi Tea Factory Shoyeb Ahmmed said the expanding tea sector will definitely create more jobs in future for the local people including female labourers.
Panchagarh Sadar upazila chairman Anwar Sadat said the prospective tea sector has been changing socioeconomic condition of the local people and creating huge jobs for the female tea-leaves plucking labourers though they were jobless in the pasts.
Social worker of Panchagarh Shahidul Islam said tea plantation could be expanded further with setting up of more tea processing industries, competitive markets for green tea leaves and resolving some other prevailing problems being faced by the sector.
The growing tea sector has been enhancing local economy and women empowerment as hundreds of distressed females are gradually becoming self-reliant by earning livelihoods from tea gardens and sending their children to the schools, he added.
Small-scale tea farmers Mozahedul Hassan, Abdur Rahman, Esahaq Ali, Mostafa Jamal and Motiar Rahman said they have been cultivating the cash crop successfully in recent years to earn better profits by selling green leaves to the tea processing factories.
Female workers Fahima Begum, Fuli Begum, Aklima Khatun, Rojina Begum, and Halima of Tentulia upazila said they are earning Taka 200 per day as wages daily on an average depending on the quantity of plucked green tea leaves.
