Small Tea Producers Show The Way

 New Delhi: Small tea processing enterprises in South India can well be trend setters thanks to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In collaboration with the Tea Board of India, a project worth over $ 2.5 million investment is helping these enterprises to adopt a range of measures to improve energy efficiency in processing. As a result, tea producers of the Nilgiri hills in South India are leading the way in demonstrating possibilities of conserving energy and improving profitability in the sector.

Two years ago Manogaran, tea maker and supervisor of the Kaikatty Tea Industrial Cooperative Society, in the Nilgiri hills was a worried man. Employed at the cooperative for over 3 decades, he had known no other job. Rumours that the cooperative would shut down amid rising losses started giving him sleepless nights. He was not alone in his worries - spread over 2,000 acres, the cooperative is a lifeline for its 1,500 members. More than 60 percent of the local economy in these parts relies on revenue from the sector which employs over 3, 00,000 people.

South India contributes over 45 per cent to the country’s tea exports. Much of the region’s tea comes from 60,000 small tea growers that own one hectare of land and sell tea leaf to 100 small scale factories nearby that process the leaf into tea. On an average, these bought-leaf factories consume nine million kg of firewood annually much of which is transported to the Nilgiris from over 400 kms away. Roughly 30 per cent of the production costs can be attributed to energy requirements.

As the Cooperative explored ways to reduce production costs and improve quality of its tea, it undertook a detailed energy audit, which highlighted many opportunities where the same could be achieved. The results have been remarkable. In a short span of two years, the cooperative has been able to turn around by saving on its energy bill by 30 per cent.

It all started way back in 2008, wherein, the UNDP and the Tea Board, under the Union Ministry of Commerce, with support from the Global Environment Facility initiated a four-year project aimed at introducing energy conservation measures in small tea processing factories that could help units realise between 15 to 30 per cent savings in energy costs. Close to 100 energy audits undertaken by the Technology Information Design Endeavour (TIDE), revealed that energy efficiency in both electrical and thermal applications could make a significant impact in lowering production costs in a sector facing intense competition from international markets. It can also help the firewood intensive sector overcome a new challenge – of rapidly changing environment.

The Tea Board of India has noted: “The growing shortage of fuel and climate change has created a sustainability challenge for the tea sector. Translating findings from energy audits into actual concrete measures is the key to the adoption of energy conservation practices as part of business strategy.” As a result of project efforts, over $ 2.5 million, much of it as private equity, has been channeled into a range of energy saving measures – both in thermal and electric energy – this includes installing more efficient motors, investing in wood chippers to enhance efficiency in burning firewood, modifying blades in the drying process and using renewables such as biomass and hydro power.

Today, carbon dioxide emissions have reduced by around 35,000 tonnes. The experiences of small tea processers have resonated with the larger, export-oriented tea estates. According to the region’s largest tea exporters, “This year, we budgeted over $ 40,000 in energy saving measures, last year we had no budget for these activities.”

For the country, where 400 million people still live without electricity and energy needs are rising to drive a rapidly growing economy, efforts such as those by the tea sector in the Nilgiris represent a powerful win-win strategy in addressing the challenge of climate change and profitability of businesses. (INFA)