A cup of tea is a daily ritual in the lives of millions throughout the world – and millions depend on it for their livelihood.
The first ever International Tea Day, backed by the United Nations, takes place today – 21 May. We take a look at the challenges facing the global tea industry, and how it can build back better after COVID-19 to support smallholder farmers and sustainability.
The UN states – Tea, one of the oldest estate cash crops, can play a significant role in rural development, poverty reduction and food security.
The tea industry is a main source of income and export revenues for emerging economies and, as a labour-intensive sector, it can provide green jobs, especially in remote and economically disadvantaged areas. But, in most tea-growing countries, farmers and pluckers remain marginalized and poor. COVID-19 is also taking a toll on the industry, with many tea-producing areas seeing falls in output and demand.
My wife and I have Certainly travelled, mainly on foot, through regions of China where tea was a major crop – that tea growers are likely poorer than city folk is very much in evidence. The ‘beauty’ of the plantations and their landscapes, is contrasted with the realities – you require considerable land, with many workers, to produce tea. Coffee is also the ‘new competition’ for plantations .
There are many examples of sustainable tea growing projects, many with education resources ….
Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand – education resources
Good practice in growing tea in sustainable ways supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals
The story of tea leads to the story of access to food resources
