Small tea growers push for GI Tag to protect Assam tea’s legacy, curb mislabelling

Dibrugarh, Mar 12:  The small tea growers in the state have advocated the introduction of GI tags to secure the future of Assam tea. In addition, tea factories must have the assurance of high-quality raw tea leaves by an expert. This resolution was adopted by the central executive committee of the All Assam Small Tea Growers' Association (AASTGA) during its meeting held at Sarala Nagar in Jorhat recently.

The meeting was presided over by the president of the association, Rajen Bora, while the acting general secretary of the association, Jagat Handique, explained the objectives of the meeting.

In the meeting, the small tea growers' body also resolved that in the interest of a secure future of the distinct quality of Assamese tea, the factories in Assam should stop illegally manufacturing tea out of the green tea leaves procured from Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Arunachal tea should be sold as Arunachal tea and Nagaland tea as Nagaland tea and not as Assam tea, the AASTGA release said.

The small tea growers further said that the tea testing laboratory at Dibrugarh University must be upgraded and approved by the Tea Board of India as per the required rules. They have also asked the government to take appropriate measures to convert the biometric cards of tea farmers in forest villages to QR cards or include their names in the forest villages to avail the facilities of the Tea Board of India.

The meeting decided to discuss with the authorities concerned the matter of issuing term leases to small tea farmers. The union further decided to hold its general meeting in Dhemaji in April. The meeting also decided to publish the mouthpiece of the association titled Green Gold, the release added.

By 

Staff Correspondent