Mr. Henry Heyneardhi, Partnership Director, Indonesian Tea Marketing Association, Dr. Shatadru Chattopadhayay, Managing Director, Solidaridad Asia, Ms. Nayantara Palchoudhuri, Chairperson, Indian Tea Association (ITA) & TRINITEA Programme Committee, Mr. Arijit Raha, Secretary General, ITA, S. Ramu, President of Small Tea Growers Association of Southern India, Mr. Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, president, the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA), Mr. Achyut Gogoi, the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA), Secretary, NE States, Mr. Senaka Alawattegama, Chairman, Planters’ Association of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Mr. Shah Alam, Chairman, Bangladesh Tea Association graced the first India International Small Tea Grower’s Convention in Kolkata.

Tea is among the most consumed beverage in the world and provides employment to millions of smallholder farmers. The small tea farmers face economic, climatic, and other problems.

The conference saw the participation of over 150 participants from different parts of India and other countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Indonesia.

Solidaridad and ITA have been taking every step to give small farmers a chance for a better future.

Solidaridad also introduced innovative products for small tea farmers like:

• SoilProbe- instant soil analyzer
• SoliMet- hyper-local weather station
• SoliBot- interactive chatbot
• Ballotronix- instant tea leaf reader

Solidaridad aims to connect with more small tea growers and offers them economical farmer-friendly innovative solutions. They have a dedicated team of engineers who integrate mechanical, telecommunications, electrical, and electronics systems with artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning.

The day-long event also consisted of technical sessions with presentations and talks by industry experts. The event ended with an award ceremony where 15 small growers were felicitated for their achievement in manufacturing specialty teas.

The convention also saw an exhibition of different types of teas manufactured by the small growers.

With the help of such steps, Solidaridad aims to provide better opportunities for small tea growers.

Priyanka Dutta