Tea Production in Developing Countries and the SDGs

Tea Production in Developing CountriesMillions of people in developing countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Turkey rely heavily on the labor-intensive job of cultivating and tea production for their livelihoods. The tea industry also creates jobs, particularly in rural and underdeveloped areas. The United Nations (U.N.) notes that tea “can play a significant role in rural development, poverty reduction and food security in developing countries, being one of the most important cash crops,” thereby contributing to meeting the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Meeting the SDGs

The production and processing of tea hold the potential to significantly contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which outlines the 17 SDGs and provides a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future,” the U.N. highlights.

Tea production in developing countries can help meet several SDGs. For instance, eliminating extreme poverty (SDG 1), zero hunger, (SDG 2), female empowerment (SDG 5) and the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15). By further improving the tea value chain, the tea industry can play an even greater role in global development.

International Tea Day

The U.N. General Assembly has marked May 21 as International Tea Day. The day aims to encourage group efforts to carry out initiatives in support of the “sustainable production and consumption of tea and raise awareness of its importance in fighting hunger and poverty,” the U.N. website highlights. The day also aims to recognize the important role of tea in contributing to the U.N. SDGs.

According to a 2022 publication by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the leading black tea exporter is Kenya, followed by India and Sri Lanka. The FAO says “Global tea production amounts annually to over $17 billion, while world tea trade is valued at about $9.5 billion, accounting for an important source of export earnings.” Furthermore, smallholder farmers contribute to 60% of global tea production, indicating that the tea industry contributes to income and food security in disadvantaged communities.

The FAO also highlights that global tea per capita consumption has risen by 2.5% over the past 10 years, with notable growth occurring in tea-producing nations. However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has negatively impacted the tea industry as Russia stood as “the largest importer of Indian tea, the third largest importer of Sri Lankan tea and the fifth largest importer of Kenyan tea,” the FAO notes. Additionally, the increase in prices of and limited availability of fertilizers due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict also impacts tea-growing countries.

The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP)

The Ethical Tea Partnership is an organization that ensures equity and fair treatment for workers in the tea industry. Its efforts look to advance the SDGs in tea-growing areas through its Strategy2030, which looks to ensure equality among workers, economic fairness and environmental sustainability. For instance, ETP’s Improving Lives program in partnership with UNICEF has benefited 250,000 people. It has also impacted about 25% of all tea estates in the tea-producing state of Assam, India. The program’s achievements on these tea estates include reducing child marriage and exploitative child labor, promoting children’s education, establishing safe and accessible hygiene and sanitation facilities for girls and women and improving nutrition in communities.

Growing Tea Demand

The FAO forecasts that tea consumption will increase significantly over the next decade due to the rise in demand from developed and emerging countries. The report also highlights how demographics affect tea demand and consumption. People with better access to education have increased health awareness and, therefore, realize the health benefits of a cup of tea.

Popular for its anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting effects, tea holds many health benefits, such as increasing antioxidants in the body, maintaining good heart health and lowering the risk of cancer. According to a study by Castellana and others, during the COVID-19 pandemic tea consumption marked a 70% increase. The hot beverage is still popular as more people look for solutions to boost immunity naturally.

Looking Ahead

Tea production provides economic possibilities for tea growers in underdeveloped nations. And increased tea consumption carries the potential to create new rural income opportunities and improve food security in tea-producing countries.

– Ralitsa Pashkuleva
Photo: Wikimedia

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The Exploitation of Tea Plantation Workers in Sri Lanka

Tea Plantation Workers in Sri LankaSri Lanka is one of the largest tea-producing countries globally and is home to many tea plantation workers. Sri Lanka is known for its Ceylon Tea, which is “acclaimed as the best tea in the world.” However, the process of tea cultivation is arduous and time staking, requiring meticulous care. Tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka put hours of hard work into the job. However, workers, including child workers, are often exploited and unfairly compensated. Organizations are committed to fighting for the rights and protection of tea plantation workers in countries like Sri Lanka.

History of Tea Plantations

Tea plantations, also known as tea estates, came about in the 19th century. The British Empire brought people from Southern India to work on the tea plantations. Most of these workers were from Tamil Nadu. Even though the British Empire abolished slavery, these Tamil tea plantation workers were certainly subject to conditions of slavery. The workers did not receive compensation and endured harsh working conditions “with long hours and heavy quotas.” Furthermore, the “workers lived in crowded shacks, without sanitation, running water, medical facilities or schools for their children.”

After British rule and achieving independence in 1948, Sri Lanka labeled the tea plantation workers as “temporary immigrants,” outrightly denying them citizenship despite years of employment in the country. Only about 30 years later, in the 1980s, Sri Lanka granted citizenship rights to the “descendants of Indian Tamil indentured servants.” To this day, many Tamils still work on tea plantations. While they gained some rights as Sri Lankan citizens, workers, including children, continue to face exploitative conditions.

Present Day Exploitation

Even though the tea industry is one of the foundations of Sri Lanka’s economy, tea plantation workers often experience exploitation. Laborers often walk barefoot through the hills of the tea estates and pick tea leaves for hours. To earn the daily wage, workers have to pluck a minimum amount of tea leaves. Up until this year, to receive the daily wage of 700 Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) (about $4.15) a plantation worker needed to gather at least 40 pounds of tea leaves.

Since around 2016, “tea plantation trade unions” have demanded a raise in the daily wage to 1,000 LKR. The protests finally paid off in January 2021. The Cabinet of Ministers amended the Wages Board Regulations, implementing an increase of the daily tea worker wage to a minimum of 1,000 LKR. Despite this wage increase, most tea workers still struggle to meet their basic needs. Furthermore, the workers do not receive sick leave, and since “no work means no pay,” workers cannot afford to take a day off.

Along with inadequate compensation, children also experience exploitation within the tea industry. Due to poverty, many Sri Lankan children drop out of school to earn an income to support their families. While the minimum legal working age at Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs)  is 16 years old, one study found that 73% of Sri Lankan children were engaged in employment before the age of 12. Long working hours and strenuous labor adversely impact children. Furthermore, child labor means education is not a priority, perpetuating the cycle of poverty even further.

Ethical Practices

While Sri Lankan tea plantation workers continue to battle unjust treatment, organizations aim to fight for tea plantation workers’ rights. In 2018, the Mother and Child-Friendly Tea Plantations project, funded by Save the Children Hong Kong, launched the Child Protection Policy. In partnership with Kelani Valley Plantations and Talawakelle Tea Estates, the policy “is a voluntary undertaking through which participating tea companies” promise to protect children living in tea estates from harm and exploitation.

Another organization dedicated to tea workers’ rights is the Ethical Tea Partnership. The Ethical Tea Partnership works “with tea companies, development organizations and governments to improve the lives of tea workers.” The organization works in tea-producing regions in Africa and Asia. Between 2016 and 2020, the organization’s efforts benefited more than one million tea workers across the world. Its Women of Tea program in Sri Lanka runs until the close of 2021, aiming to improve “the health and nutrition” of Sri Lankan tea plantation workers. The initiative also aims to improve “hygiene and sanitation practices and financial management strategies.”

The Way Forward

Although there is still room for progress, organizations have achieved significant success in improving the lives of tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka. With further efforts to uplift and empower tea workers, there is hope for tea plantation workers to live a life outside of poverty.

-Karuna Lakhiani
Photo: Flickr

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Empowering Tea Farmers in India During COVID-19

tea farmers in IndiaWhile many brew tea unaware of the extensive work that goes into a cup, more than two million people in India dedicate their lives to the tea industry. Many tea farmers live in impoverished circumstances with limited access to healthcare, education and nutrition. UNICEF and the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) have teamed up to empower tea farmers in India despite setbacks caused by COVID-19.

Poor Quality of Life on India’s Tea Farms

Assam, located in Northeastern India, is responsible for most of India’s tea production, boasting around 800 tea estates. The inhabitants of these estates, mostly women and children, make up 20% of the region’s population and face several systemic issues. Furthermore, nearly one-third of Assam’s population lives in poverty. Children face even more risks, with 43% of girls marrying before age 18 and a little more than half of the youth enrolled in secondary school.

Improving Living Conditions on Tea Farms

With the help of UNICEF, the Ethical Tea Partnership, a nonprofit aiming to improve both quality of life in tea communities and tea sustainability, implemented the Improving Lives Program in 2014. The program works to improve health, hygiene, education and overall quality of life on 205 tea estates in Assam, India. For example, the program has funded and created Girls and Boys Groups and Child Protection Committees to combat child exploitation and has also built sanitation facilities.

In the first five years that UNICEF and ETP worked together, the organizations provided 35,000 girls in Assam with tools and education to prevent abuse and exploitation. The program has also trained more than 1,000 social workers and police to better facilitate trust between agencies and locals in regard to child protection.

In 2018, the Improving Lives Program expanded to cover education, sanitation, food, water, child care and overall health in a quarter of the region’s tea estates, making it the largest program in Assam working to better living conditions.

COVID-19 Challenges

Like the rest of the world, the Improving Lives Program had to adapt amid COVID-19. The ETP complied with local lockdown restrictions while also ensuring the well-being of everyone involved. The Indian government provided free COVID-19 testing sites, quarantine centers and treatment facilities. Meanwhile, UNICEF and ETP worked to fight COVID-19 by providing almost 5,000 portable handwashing stations across the 205 tea estates.

While most of the globe implemented online learning, limited access to technology made this impossible for many children on Assam’s tea estates. Instead, the Improving Lives Program gave “take-home learning materials” to about 20,000 children. Those who lacked access to smartphones used TV, local radio and the knowledge and utilities of their neighbors, making education a community effort.

New Mental Health Services

With new COVID-19 protocols in place, the Improving Lives Program can continue to fight for better conditions on India’s tea farms. A positive result of its pandemic-era adaptations is a new mental health support network. The program has trained 3,375 child protection officers thus far to provide psychological and social support to local children, offering relief from immediate mental health struggles as well as better opportunities for the future.

The ETP explains that through partnership, the organization is “one crucial step closer to realizing the ambition that children, young people and women living in tea estates in Assam can survive, thrive and fulfill their full potential.”

– Caroline Bersch
Photo: Pixabay

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Helping Kenyan Tea Farmers Rise Out of Poverty

Helping Kenyan Tea Farmers Rise Out of PovertyThe East African country of Kenya has one of the fastest-growing economies and is a global leader in tea exports. With a significant number of Kenyans employed in the agriculture sector, the country’s strong economy relies on the labor of millions of farmers. The recent push to raise wages seems to be a positive initiative to improve the condition of rural poverty in Kenya and lead the country to reach middle-income status within the next decade. The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) runs initiatives that aim to empower Kenyan tea farmers to rise out of poverty.

KTDA Raises Earnings for Kenyan Tea Farmers

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which was established in 1964, employs around 600,000 smallholder Kenyan tea farmers across 16 different counties. The organization works to advise farmers on the best methods of growing tea and markets the products on behalf of the farmers while allowing farmers to serve as shareholders. Following its mission to invest in the tea industry and ensure the success of small-scale tea farms, KTDA has recently approved an increase in monthly payments by as much as 17%. This comes as an important measure in the fight to mitigate weaknesses in the global tea industry as many farmers reap the consequences of climate change and oversupply in the form of reduced wages.

Providing farmers with a means of financial security allows them the ability to invest in a growing economy and promote the longevity of tea farming. True to its values of promoting ethical practices and upholding a standard of social responsibility, CEO Wilson Muthaura tells World Tea News that he believes the wage increase, “is in line with the commitment the new board has undertaken to ensure that farmers are getting earnings that reflect their hard work, and which are responsive to their everyday social and economic needs.” Though the wage increase benefits a small portion of Kenyan farmers, KTDA’s forward-thinking initiative could serve as an example for those involved in the tea industry as a whole.

Current State of Kenya’s Tea Industry

Located in what is considered a logistic hub in Eastern Africa, Kenya’s tea industry is a crucial part of Kenyan agriculture, with nearly 75% of Kenyans earning their income in the agriculture sector. In 2017, Kenya’s tea exports contributed about $1.4 billion in revenue and agriculture accounted for 33% of total GDP. For major companies like KTDA, smallholder farms account for nearly 60% of all tea production.

Operating under the watch of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Tea Directorate and key research organizations in Kenya, the industry combines the efforts of producers and manufacturers to smoothly export tea leaves around the world. And while the country profits from the widespread success of the global tea trade, the majority of tea farmers still face major issues. With a lack of funding to invest in up-to-date agricultural equipment, many farmers resort to using outdated equipment to harvest crops. This often results in crops perishing before the harvest time and farmers run the risk of ruining the quality, thus contributing to higher costs of production.

Poverty in Kenya also extends to the lack of access to proper transportation, where rural areas do not have adequate roads that can connect farms to commercial areas of the country. Possibly the biggest hurdle for farmers is the lack of information about the most efficient growing methods and how to utilize updated machinery. The inability to keep up with modern farms could spell disaster for farmers who rely on large crop yields in order to make a sufficient income.

Poverty in Kenya

In 2020, estimates indicate that nearly 27.3% of Kenya’s population were living in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1.90 a day. Impoverished communities, primarily located in the northeastern region of the country, are often at a disadvantage due to their distance away from social resources. By 2039, Kenya’s population is expected to reach 81 million people, nearly doubling from the current number.

And while this steady upward trend means the creation of more jobs and overall consumers, it also puts more strain on a system fighting food insecurity, unstable infrastructure and unfair working conditions. Although overall poverty in Kenya is declining, poverty continues to disproportionally affect those in rural areas.

Empowering Farmers

KTDA’s increase in wages is just one of its many ways to help smallholder farmers. Acknowledging that growers often face reduced wages in circumstances out of their control, the agency also provides a number of programs aimed at helping farmers become self-sufficient. Farmer Field School (FFS) teaches classes on the latest developments in planting and preparation, incorporates diverse farming practices and provides information on managing finances.

Fully funded by KTDA, the organization runs nearly 400 classes that assist farmers in gaining access to the vital information they need to ensure their farms stay operational. By empowering farmers directly, these methods serve to better the quality of life of workers in rural areas and call attention to changes that need to occur if poverty in Kenya is to significantly diminish. In line with the country’s overall mission to reach middle-income status by 2030, KTDA’s move to pay farmers a living wage benefits not only small-scale farmers residing in rural communities but improves the entire tea industry.

– Nicole Yaroslavsky
Photo: Flickr

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How Microsoft is Improving Tea Farming in Sri Lanka

Tea Farming in Sri LankaSri Lanka is a small island off the southeastern coast of India. The country is home to around 22 million people and to a long and vibrant history. Sri Lanka has gone from an early Buddhist settlement to a colony under the control of major European powers to, finally, its own independent republic in 1972. Throughout its secular history, tea farming in Sri Lanka has remained a constant activity and has played a massive role in the development of culture on the island.

Sri Lankan tea gained global prevalence after British colonial rulers transformed tea agriculture into a plantation-style economic powerhouse. With the economic success brought on by the explosion of tea farming in the country, the British began pushing peasants and subsistence farmers into producing tea to capitalize on the global interest in the beverage.

Tea Farming in Modern Sri Lanka

Plantation-style agriculture still makes up a notable volume of Sri Lanka’s economy, and tea is the “preeminent crop of the plantation sector” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The global demand for tea has not diminished in modern times and seemingly neither has Sri Lanka’s role in providing it. The country exports hundreds of millions of kilograms of tea every year. For example, from January 2020 to May 2020 Sri Lanka exported over 100 million kilograms of tea to its trading partners.

Therefore, much of the country’s agricultural workforce is devoted to tea farming. More specifically, two million Sri Lankan farmers rely on tea farming and tea production to provide for their families and households. With tea ingrained in so much of Sri Lanka’s culture and economy, modern solutions need to be embraced to soothe the working conditions of the many poor farmers who work to meet the global demand for tea.

How Microsoft is Improving Tea Farming in Sri Lanka

To do so, Sri Lanka has turned to technology and confided in companies to assist the government in finding these solutions. For Sri Lanka specifically, Microsoft has been a superb partner in this goal.

One broad way Microsoft has helped is via a survey conducted with local business leaders to determine if they have an interest in integrating artificial intelligence (or “AI”) as a business solution. The survey discovered that 80% of those business leaders surveyed found AI to be essential to maintain their business’s competitiveness. Acknowledging this, Microsoft is investing millions of dollars into enhancing tech skills for businesses in Sri Lanka, as well as starting programs and providing hardware to assist tech startups rising in the nation.

The implications of this initiative are massive. Considering the vital status of tea farming to Sri Lanka’s culture and economy, Microsoft’s assistance in pushing more technology into businesses can lead to more efficient farming. As a result, there will be more valuable data available to increase crop yields and more companies will engage in tea farming as their enterprise of choice. The introduction of these tools can also lead to an improvement in the lives of millions of tea farmers in Sri Lanka in both safety and economic terms.

The Colombo Tea Auction

Such efforts have already begun to take hold in Sri Lanka. One major example of Microsoft’s valuable assistance to tea farming in Sri Lanka can be found in the Colombo Tea Auction. The Colombo Tea Auction is a weekly event that takes place in the nation’s capital involving the sale and export of tea from farmers. The event is vital to the tea farming community’s success as it is a major method for how the country’s tea is prepped and sold for export around the world.

However, the auction tends to involve a lot of close-quarters contact between attendees; a reality that has proven impossible given the current global COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, with the help of Microsoft’s Azure team and their Azure cloud and AI products, a local tech company was able to develop an e-commerce platform that allowed sellers and buyers to trade tea from the safety of their own homes. This was developed with extreme speed, and it allowed the tea economy (and two million poor tea farmers) to avoid economic disaster and flourish amongst a dangerous pandemic.

Now that the benefits are starting to become more tangible, and economic success is within reach for Sri Lanka’s farmers, technology may become more and more prevalent in the Sri Lankan tea industry. With the success of the Colombo Tea Auction’s move to digital commerce, along with Microsoft’s continued efforts to support Sri Lanka’s growth in tech and economic fulfillment, the world may see a better-equipped, safer and more successful Sri Lanka in the near future, perhaps beginning with their high-quality tea.

– Domenic Scalora
Photo: Flickr

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Renewable Energy in Kenya’s Tea Landscapes

Renewable Energy in Kenya’s Tea LandscapesKenya is facing a massive deforestation crisis. As the world’s third-largest exporter of tea with more than 3 million people relying on the crop, the deforestation is detrimental to livelihoods and the planet. Kenyan tea landscapes rely heavily on firewood and charcoal for energy. The tea factories use copious amounts of firewood for production, however, this method exacerbates deforestation as the factories cut down millions of trees each year to keep up with demand.

Tea landscape households use firewood, charcoal and kerosene for cooking and lighting, and their use has severe health implications. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 17% of lung cancer-related deaths around the world result from high levels of exposure to carcinogens in household air pollution, with there being a higher risk for women.

The Renewable Energy Project

To alleviate these issues, the Rainforest Alliance, an intersectional nonprofit, works to protect the world’s forests and the livelihoods of farmers and forest communities. The organization’s Renewable Energy Project is working on the field to mitigate the harmful effects of deforestation while improving public health with more renewable energy in Kenya’s tea landscapes.  

The Borgen Project spoke with James Muyula, a senior associate with the Rainforest Alliance, to learn more about the Renewable Energy Project. Muyula has been involved in the project since October 2017. He works in the field to support and initiate activities geared towards the realization of the project.

“The Renewable Energy Project is catalyzing the use of efficient renewable energy technologies in Kenya’s tea landscapes at the factory and household level,” Muyula said. He told The Borgen Project that this four-year project aims to accelerate the use of sustainable biomass briquettes, renewable energy that is beneficial for environmental conservation, safer for the communities and offers local entrepreneurs more employment opportunities.

Deforestation

According to Muyula, the annual demand for firewood in Kenya exceeds 19 million cubic meters of forest cover with a projected increase to 22 million cubic meters by 2032. He also said that government development goals aim to recover the land to 10% forest cover by 2030. This is increasingly difficult as the tea factories currently rely on about 1 million cubic meters of firewood annually.

Deforestation is a key issue in Kenya. The country is currently at about 7% forest cover. “Forests are pertinent for rivers, where they flow from, and we are actually changing the ecosystems. Even the rainfall pattern is changing,” Muyula explained.

The destruction of forests severely impacts forest communities. These communities lose access to essential forest goods and services like food, water and supplies. Additionally, in 2010, deforestation accounted for 24% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The combined effects of challenging weather and deforestation on the livelihoods of farmers and local communities in Kenya’s tea landscapes pose a great threat that the reliance on heavy polluters like firewood and charcoal in households and factories exacerbates.

The Alternatives

The Rainforest Alliance, in partnership with Living Earth (EnSo Impact) and the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), are intervening to lower the need for firewood and other harmful energy sources at the factory and household levels. Funded by the IKEA Foundation, the project increases biomass briquette use and brings more efficient cooking stoves along with solar technologies to the communities in the tea landscapes.

According to Muyula, there are two categories of briquettes: carbonized (smokeless) briquettes for household cooking and non-carbonized briquettes for the tea factories. These are blocks of raw materials that burn longer than firewood with significantly lower indoor air pollution. In Kenya specifically, briquettes comprise of leftover sugarcane, bagasse, rice or coffee husks, macadamia nuts and sawdust. Small machines bind and compress the briquettes. After three of four days they are dry and ready for use.

While briquettes are not a new technology, Kenya does not have a national standard for them, leaving many skeptical of their quality. Part of the initiative to expand renewable energy in Kenya’s tea landscapes is to address the quality of the briquettes while optimizing their market with the KTDA. With the Rainforest Alliance, they create long term relationships with local entrepreneurs who supply the briquettes and incentivize their use in the factories.

Briquettes Improve Livelihoods

The Rainforest Alliance helps seven Household Energy Centers (HEC) where local renewable energy entrepreneurs build their briquette enterprises. This project has created substantial employment opportunities for the HECs. With briquettes now a main source of income, Muyula mentions that they earn between $150 to $200 a month. This income gives entrepreneurs the ability to build nice houses and purchase dairy cows for additional revenue. “Those are some of the things that are visible, that the project is proud of, ” Muyula said.

Renewable energy in Kenya and the use of briquettes means many households spend less time collecting firewood and have more time to invest in their farms. Green sources of lighting, like solar panels, also contribute to improved living conditions for the tea landscape communities. One example Muyula mentioned was that school children are actually improving in their studies, no longer having to endure classrooms with kerosene for lighting fuel, which affects the eyes.

“At the Rainforest Alliance,” Muyula said, “our vision is to create a world where people and nature thrive in harmony. We are working to create deep-rooted change on some of the world’s most pressing issues, including rural poverty, climate change, biodiversity loss and deforestation.”

This project aims to help over 50,000 families in Kenya’s tea landscapes by improving their quality of life, mitigating deforestation and creating healthier homes. Muyula told The Borgen Project that in the near future the Rainforest Alliance hopes to expand the work of catalyzing renewable energy in Kenya throughout Africa, bringing clean energy to every home and factory, improving public health and protecting the planet.

 – Rochelle Gluzman
Photo: Flickr