Lok Sabha Question No. 360 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-04
Subject: Financial Support and Subsidies for Tea Farmers in Assam
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Md. Rakibul Hussain

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 360

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04 TH  FEBRUARY, 2025

## Financial Support and Subsidies for Tea Farmers in Assam

## 360.  MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ ͪष  एवं  ͩकसान  कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  provide  subsidies  or  aid  to  the  small  and  medium  tea farmers to help them handle fluctuating market prices keeping in view that the tea farming in Assam is vital to the region's economy yet many farmers face financial challenges, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  there  are  any  Government  schemes  offering  low-interest  loans  for  farm modernization and productivity improvement; and
- (c) if so, the manner in which the Government is ensuring that tea farmers particularly in remote areas access financial support and growth resources?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

- (a)  to  (c):  Tea  is  a  commercial  crop,  and  its  prices  are  influenced  by  demand  and  supply dynamics. To ensure fair price realization for tea growers, particularly the small ones, the Tea Board in the year 2004 introduced Price Sharing Formula (PSF) which envisaged fair sharing of sale proceeds between the grower and the manufacturer in a certain ratio based on  the  cost  of  production  of  both  green  leaf  and  made  tea.  To  support  the  proper implementation of the PSF, the payment of green leaf prices to growers is monitored by the District Green Leaf Price Monitoring Committees, headed by the District Magistrates.

To promote overall development of tea growers in the country, including in Assam, the  Tea  Board  implements  the  Tea  Development  &  Promotion  Scheme  which  has components specifically for small tea growers (STGs). The focus is on organising STGs into self-help  groups  (SHGs)  and  farmer  producer  organisations  (FPOs,)  with  the  objective  of empowering  them  to  participate  more  gainfully  in  the  tea  value  chain  and  improve  the delivery  of  extension  services  and  schemes.  The  programme  provides  various  types  of assistance,  including  field  mechanisation  equipment,  leaf  carriage  vehicles,  leaf  sheds, pruning machines, mechanical harvesters & storage godowns, revolving corpus fund, setting up of new mini factories for production of orthodox, green & specialty teas, soil testing, and capacity  building  through  Farm  Field  schools.  Additionally,  incentives  are  offered  for maintaining proper pruning cycle and standard plucking rounds. The assistance is not only aimed  to  incentivise  the  formation  of  SHGs  and  FPOs,  but  also  to  increase  productivity, improve quality, greater value addition and thereby greater price realisation for the STGs.

All  services  under  the  scheme  are  delivered  through  the  Service  Plus  portal  with financial assistance transferred via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Besides, the implementation  of  the  scheme  is  decentralized  and  managed  by  the  Zonal  or  Regional Offices in respective regions. To improve outreach at the grassroots level, regional and subregional offices are located in the plantation areas and directly engage with small growers, assisting them in accessing the schemes, particularly in remote locations.

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