KOLKATA: State Labour, Law and Judicial department minister Moloy Ghatak on Friday inaugurated an exhibition of tea produced by the small growers at the first India International Small Tea Growers' Convention in Kolkata.
Ghatak inaugurated the exhibition, which had handcrafted tea from small growers from across India and even Indonesia, by lighting candles.
"The Bengal government will always lend a helping hand when needed and in my opinion, the governments of all other states ought to do the same to aid smallholder farmers secure a better future," Ghatak stated while adding, "Small holder farmers have always been an impacted group. Over the years, ITA (Indian Tea Association) and Solidaridad have been launching various initiatives to meet these challenges and help the farmers to lead a better life."
Tea industry employs millions of smallholder farmers and the conference dedicated to them was attended by more than 150 participants from countries including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia and Nepal. Through interactive sessions, the participants discussed the role of smallholder farmers in the tea industry and ways to promote their health and well-being and make their businesses environmentally sustainable. During the convention, fifteen small growers were felicitated for their exceptional achievement in producing specialty teas.
The convention was attended by president of Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, Chairperson of Indian Tea Association and TRINITEA programme committee Nayantara Palchoudhuri, Chairman of Nepal Tea Producers Association Suresh Mittal and Chairman of Bangladesh Tea Association Shah Alam, amongst others. Representatives from Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Growers Association, All Bodoland Small Tea Growers Association, etc. were present.