Tea cultivation creates 25,000 jobs in 5 northern districts
Image: Collected
The rapidly boosting “small-scale gardening-basis” tea cultivation has generated jobs for a lot more than 25,000 rural people, including 15,000 women, in five northern districts of the Kartoa Valley ecological zone.
Speaking with BSS, President of Bangladesh Tiny Tea Garden Owners’ Association Amirul Haque Khokan explained small-scale gardening-basis tea farming has got ushered in a fresh hope to modify the fortune of neighborhood farmers in these northern districts.
“A lot more than 25,000 unemployed people, including 15,000 girls, are earning very well through farm-activities and plucking tea-leaves to business lead better lives even during the coronavirus pandemic in the valley,” he said.
The labourers are earning Tk500-600 as daily wages in cash by plucking green tea-leaves in sets of 10 to 20 people to business lead a solvent life.
“Although rural women passed through crisis even an era ago amid abject poverty, they have come out of the vicious cycle of poverty now to lead better lives with a imagine a better future because of their children,” Khokan added.
Officials of Bangladesh Tea Panel (BTB) said the Kartoa Valley ecological area comprises Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts.
“The valley witnessed an all-time track record 9.6 million kg of made-tea creation this past year against 8.47 million kg in 2018 and 5.44 million kg in 2017,” explained Senior Scientific Officer at Bangladesh Tea Study Institute Dr Mohammad Shameem Al Mamun.
Mamun, also project director of the Northern Bangladesh Project of BTB, said owners of nine registered and 19 unregistered gardens and 6,558 small holders cultivated tea on 8,681 acres of lands creating 46.9 million kg of green tea leaves in 2019 in the valley.
With continuous expansion of tea cultivation on “small-scale gardening-basis”, more jobs are being created yearly for a large number of tea workers, mostly girls, in the valley.
“The small-scale gardening-basis tea farming continues expanding because the launch of the ‘Expansion of Small Holding Tea Cultivation in Northern Bangladesh Job’ in 2015 to provide more 500 hectares of land under tea farming by 2020,” Mamun added.
Speaking with BSS, Vice-President of Panchagarh Chamber Mehedi Hasan Khan Babla stated the flourishing tea-based agriculture sector accelerates females empowerment by assisting women in contributing to their families for coping with dignity.
“A lot more than 15,000 ladies tea workers, including unemployed feminine youths, housewives, widows and divorcees, are actually earning better wages by employed in the fast developing tea sector to improve their livelihoods found in the valley,” Babla reported.
Workers living good by employed in tea gardens even amid the pandemic
Like different tea growers, Shahinur Rahman of Buraburi village in Tetulia upazila of Panchagarh stated he started “small-scale gardening-basis” tea cultivation on his plain land in 2016.
“I am cultivating tea on 5.50 acres of land and selling green tea-leaves to tea digesting companies to earn well,” Rahman said, adding that lots of men and women workers were employed in his tea fields and earning better wages.
Talking to BSS, women farm-labourers Aleya Khatun, Kalpona Begum, Selina Hembrom and Gokul Hasda of Buraburi village stated these were earning Tk500-600 as daily wages simply by plucking green-tea leaves.
Aklima Begum of Moynaguri, Phuli Khatun of Kandaligoach and Morium Begum of Guchchhogram villages in Tetulia upazila said these were living well by performing as labourers in tea gardens even amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“After forming sets of 15 to 20 women of all ages labourers to pluck green-tea leaves and share wages equally, we started getting double wages - between Tk500 and Tk600 daily - compared to five-six years back,” said labourer Kalpona Begum.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com