Farm Size and Agrarian Relations of Small Tea Growers (STGs) in North Bengal
By Abdul Hannan
The present research is an outcome of a farm level survey conducted during the year 2005-06. It deals with the seasonal production dynamics of the small holder tea farms in North Bengal and the green leaf price variation across different seasons of the year. It also highlights the involvement of Farias (middlemen) in the transactions of green leaf from Small Tea Growers to the market and the possible reasons behind such kind of practices in the region. Lastly, the paper also investigates the institutional gaps and commitments to regulate the green leaf market by implementing the Price-Sharing Formula. It reveals that the farm gate price of STGs remains almost static while farm input prices of fertilizers, agro-medicines and labour cost is increasing over the years. There is no minimum support price for the STGs of their intermediate product i.e. green leaf.