CHT landowners start tea plantation

Tea saplings grown by Bangladesh Tea Board in Bandarban being nursed before distribution among local landowners. PHOTO: STAR

There is a tremendous prospect for raising tea gardens in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which will increase production and export manifold, BTB officials told this correspondent.

Bangladesh is now exporting only one per cent of the total demand for tea in the world. This can be increased to at least five per cent if tea cultivation is extended in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, they said.

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To start with, BTB is helping 22 landowners to raise tea gardens on a total of 22 hectares of land in Sualock and Majherpara areas in Bandarban Sadar upazila. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing assistance for this.

The landowners are being given a loan of T 1.26 lakh loan per hectare to encourage small tea holdings, they said.

The loan will be given in five installments. Besides, more Tk 15,000 will be given to each farmer to buy tea seedlings to be supplied from BTB nurseries.

They said they have a target to bring 3,475 hectares under tea plantation in three upazilas in Bandarban.

Bangladesh Tea Board will provide all technical support to the farmers. Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) is supervising the loan program.

BTB will also supply about two lakh `cuttings' to the 22 farmers selected for raising the small holdings.

BTB officials said at least 46, 850 hectares of land are suitable for tea plantation in the three hill districts of Bandarban, Rangamati and Khargachhari.

In the initial stage, 6, 332 hectares in four upazilas under Khagrachari, 3475 in three upazilas in Bandarban and 1,250 hectors in three upazilas in Rangamati will be brought under tea cultivation under the supervision of BTB, they said.

Prof. Md Osman Goni, President of Bandarban Tea Estate Owners Association says, prospective tea growers will be encourages now as the BTB will provide all assistance and financial support has been assured.

Seeing the prospect, some local investors have also taken initiative to raise tea gardens on their lands in the hills, he said. Some of them have collected cuttings and seedlings from various tea estates in Sylhet for raising gardens, he said.

AKM Jahangir, a small prospective tea cultivator says, "I think, there is a bright future for tea cultivation in the CHT hills. I have also started raising a small garden".

Despite the prospects, none took the initiative in the past because there so many hurdles. This will be easier now with assistance and technical support from BTB, he happily noted while talking to this correspondent yesterday. Some other investors have also interested to invest money in this sector, he added.