Tea growers hailed the government's decision to bring the sector under the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS), which they said would help mitigate losses due to erratic rainfall and rising temperatures.

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a notification on June 10, stating that the insurance scheme would come into effect from the Kharif 2025.

States and UTs were asked to expedite the floating of tenders, finalisation of the insurance company and other modalities by June 20 to ensure that farmers can avail the benefit of the scheme.

Indian Tea Association (ITA) secretary general Arijit Raha told PTI this is the first time the sector has been brought under the purview of a weather-based insurance scheme.

"The tea sector is witnessing frequent fluctuations in production due to erratic rainfall, waterlogging and a rise in temperature, exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. Climate change adaptation and mitigation have become a major challenge to keep the sector sustainable," he said. "In this context, a weather-based crop insurance is a necessity. We heartily welcome the decision of the Centre to extend the scheme to this sector," he added.

Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers (CISTA) president Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty said the demand for it was being raised for the last five years.

"We welcome this step. Crop insurance is an effective and mitigating component in the backdrop of climate change. Tea cultivation by small growers had been hit by high temperatures and excessive rains," he said.

India, the second-largest tea producer in the world after China, reported 1,382 million kg of production in 2024. In 2023, it produced 1,375 million kg of tea.

Small tea growers contribute to more than 50 per cent of the country's total production.

Assam is the largest tea-producing state in the country, followed by West Bengal and the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and UP are among the states that grow small quantities of tea.

Source - https://www.business-standard.com