Deep Roots

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These challenges include a lack of infrastructure and access

to market, as well as a lack of the technical human resources

and production inputs (fertilizers, manure, equipment and so

on) the family farmers need. The rural population is ageing

due to the migration of younger generations to urban centres,

and this is reducing the number of young people involved in

agriculture. There is also a lack of participation among small

farmers in decision-making processes and policy formulation.

Market prices are volatile due to factors such as the monopoly

of big tea processing factories and inequitable trade practices.

In addition, there is a lack of policies and institutions that

facilitate and strengthen the family farming of tea.

CTCF currently engages to address these family farming

issues through activities such as lobbying and advocacy, capac-

ity building, marketing linkages, monitoring and coaching.

CTCF’s lobbying and advocacy activities aim to:

• organize policy dialogue with stakeholders from

grassroots to central level, in order to increase and

encourage investments in small tea family farming

• lobby and advocate to amend the national tea policy 2000

and assure the representation of small tea farmers in the

decision-making process

• ensure the guarantee of soft loans, incentives, marketing,

the development of a pricing mechanism for raw materials

and inputs and fair trade

• organize interactions between policymakers, local

governments, donors, non-governmental organizations

and rural farmers to improve the tea family farming

culture in Nepal

• lobby the Government to secure the market for the small

farmers’ production.

In terms of marketing, CTCF aims to ensure the improve-

ment of quality through training and coaching for tea farmers.

CTCF monitors evaluation tea tasting sessions in every tea

growing district, to ensure the quality of teas produced by

small family farms. It also works to build linkages with other

value creators in the value chain, as well as incorporating

buyers and helping processors to negotiate business deals and

transactions. CTCF provides support for small farmers to sell

their produce collectively from a common platform. With the

support of CTCF, national and international tea buyers have

become interested in buying tea from cooperatives, and they

have already started to buy in small quantities.

CTCF seeks to increase the livelihoods of family tea

farmers in several ways. It provides support to help estab-

lish mini processing units and works to build the capacity

of youth and farmers by exposing them to new technologies,

organic farming methods, processing methods, tastings and

cooperative awareness. CTCF provides support to help tea

cooperatives produce a business plan and to address the prob-

lems faced by their farmers. In addition, CTCF supports tea

cooperatives in obtaining soft loans from different financial

institutions and banks, on minimum interest rates. It also

supports the development of savings and credit systems and

their use by cooperatives. Unemployed youths are encouraged

to become involved in family farming with tea, and success-

ful family farms are promoted in order to encourage young

people in sustainable agriculture. In addition, CTCF works

to sensitize beneficiary farmers to the issues of food security

and sovereignty, and to sensitize local and national media to

the issues, importance and achievements of family farming.

Farmers are getting soft loans from the Nepal Rastha Bank

and the Youth Self Employment Fund with the support of

CTCF, and they are using these funds to increase productivity

in a sustainable manner with additional livestock and manure

production.

Social protection another important challenge for family

farmers. CTCF’s main priorities are small farmers, females,

marginalized people, Dalits and other ethnic groups in rural

areas. CTCF is working to sensitize primary cooperatives

so that they recognize social protection issues and address

them by providing education, training and information. It is

also conducting leadership training for women, so that they

can become more involved in the decision-making process.

Awareness training is provided for marginalized people, to

enable their involvement in cooperatives.

Since CTCF was formed, the price of the green leaf sold by

the small farmers to the factories has increased by more than

35 per cent. The small farmers have increased their income

and invested in better education, health, and improved living

standards with adequate sanitation.

A tea tasting session, with CTCF monitoring the quality of teas produced

by small family farms

The green leaf collection centre of Boarboteli Tea Cooperative Society in Ilam

Image: CTCF

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