Torrential monsoon in the rugged tea lands caused deadline landslides. Torrential monsoon in the rugged tea lands caused deadline landslides. Photo by Melech Charly on Unsplash
Wayanad Landslide Aftermath
It has been nearly a month since the devastating landslide in Wayanad. Over 100 people are still missing. DNA testing has been the only way to identify family members. Media reports carry stories of families desperately trying to understand whether a missing family member is alive or among the unidentified dead. There have been mass burials, and among those dead are several people who came from states such as West Bengal and Assam to work on tea, coffee, and rubber estates here. Harrisons Malayalam Ltd. is one of the largest tea companies in the state, with tea estates in the affected area and about 600 workers. The company has committed to supporting relief measures for its employees.
Andrew Yule & Company Reports Losses
The Deccan Heraldhas reported news of Andrew Yule & Company, a public sector undertaking under the heavy industries ministry, declaring nearly Rs 1000 crore or USD 100 mn in losses for 2023-24. This has put the future of 8,000 workers in Assam at risk. The company owns 15 estates, of which 10 are in Assam. There are concerns about how this would impact the running of the estates, with labor unrest being a top concern. The chief secretary has sought interventions from the union government to help the company address its current situation.
The Assam state government is sticking to its plans to promote tea tourism in Assam, and in 2023, 25 tea estates received funds to promote tea tourism. This week, as part of Phase II, 34 tea estates have received their sanction letters. This will mean they stand to see a financial grant of INR 2,00,00,000 or $270,000 to develop tourism and hospitality infrastructure on their estate. Tourism is hoped to bring in more revenue to manage tea estates. Work on the first phase is ongoing; no further details are available.
Sanjay Singhal Joins Wagh Bakri As CEO
Sanjay Singhal, COO of ITC, has been appointed CEO of the Wagh Bakri Tea Group. Singhal oversaw beverage and dairy during his eight-year stint at ITC. In October 2023, Parag Desai, Executive Director of the Company, passed away unexpectedly after succumbing to injuries from a fall on his morning walk. Wagh Bakri is India’s third-largest packaged tea company, headquartered in Ahmedabad, with an annual turnover of $250 million.
Auctions See Higher Prices
Week 33 saw a sharp rise in prices for all categories of tea in both North and South India. In north India, orthodox tea averaged Rs 316 per kilo, while CTC was at Rs 247 per kilo, higher than Sale 32. In the south, CTC dust averaged Rs 137 per kilo, higher than CTC leaf, while orthodox leaf averaged Rs 167 per kilo, also higher than the previous week. Sale percentages were also higher this week, with CTC Dust seeing a 97% sale in south India.
Multiple mudslides buried tea workers in their homes in Mundakkai and Chooralmala.
Landslides In Wayanad Cause High Death Toll
This year’s monsoon has been devastating. In Kerala’s Wayanad district – an important tea region – several landslides on July 30 led to the loss of lives. At last check, 108 people were reported dead, with many still missing. Heavy rains continue even as rescue work has commenced. The landslides struck when people were asleep. This is the worst natural disaster in the state after the 2018 floods. Wayanad, located in the Western Ghats, is vulnerable to landslides. People here are mainly plantation workers – working in tea and cardamom estates. Rescue operations have been affected by the continued rain, and air relief has not been possible. The BBC reported that nearly 350 families have been affected.
We have been following up on the Wayanad rescue. As of Thursday evening, the death toll stood at 295. The worst affected are the Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages. Before-and-after photos of these villages are online. The BBC reported that 1,600 people had been affected from the tea estates and villages in the area. 82 relief camps have been set up, and 8,000 people have been moved there. Relief operations continue, and the army has been called in to help.
Kangra Reports A Poor Season So Far
Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, in north India, has reported a poor season so far. Once renowned for its green tea, the region has fought to rebuild its tea industry. This year, climate change has been a challenge with dry weather and no rain. Production dropped by about 20%. Without warehouse access, tea must be transported to Kolkata, where it is sold via auctions. Kolkata auctions have seen poor demand from the export market. These have seen low prices – about a 50% drop from last year – for Kangra’s teas. The farmers are asking for greater state government support, regional warehousing facilities, and more avenues to sell the tea in the state, including at the famous Golden Temple at Amritsar. Tribune India
Tea Board Issues Closing Dates for 2024
The Tea Board has announced the last dates for plucking for gardens in north India, including Darjeeling, Dooars, Terai, Sikkim, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Bihar, on 30 November. The last date for processing green leaf is set at 2 December.
The All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association has pledged to work to improve the quality of Assam tea. The association has appealed to its members to stop using banned pesticides. They are conducting workshops to raise awareness about tea safety and permissible pesticides. And seem keen to change the perception that small tea growers are dragging down the quality of tea. Some samples of green leaf from small tea growers got a clean chit after testing at the Tea Research Association at Jorhat. What they seek in return for producing clean leaf is remunerative prices.
India Tea Production for 2024 Sees 60 Million Kilo Decline
The Tea Association of India has issued a press release to raise concerns about the drastic drop in tea production in north India in the first and second flush. The cause has been the severe lack of rainfall and excessive heat which this region has seen all year. The Association estimates a reduction of around 60 million kilograms by the end of June 2024, compared to the same period last year. By April, Assam had an 8% drop compared to the same period last year, while West Bengal saw a 13% decline. Things took a turn for the worse in May, with a 20% and 40% drop in production compared to 2023 in Assam and West Bengal, respectively. While West Bengal saw a 50% to 80% reduction in rainfall in major tea districts, Assam saw a 10% to 30% shortfall. It also means possible heavy monsoons with above-normal rainfall that further exacerbate the situation.
India’s Tocklai Tea Research Institute in Jorhat announced the winners of the 2024 Tech Brew Hackathon competition, held on International Tea Day. The winning students received 50,000 rupees for tackling their choice of five industry challenges. Teams from 20 universities participated, submitting projects addressing tea waste, marketing and promotion, and climate change. A panel of nine tea industry experts judged the projects.
The top three teams are Team Orthodox, representing the Assam Science & Technology University with a novel non-chemical pest control solution; the second prize goes to Team Neuro Linga at the PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research in Coimbatore for designing an integrated weather and crop health monitoring system. Team Doodle, also from PSG, proposed a network of sensors that monitor plant conditions for growers, signaling areas of concern. A resource website with a chatbot informed by a machine-learning AI model will assess their concerns and suggest remedies.
Pranjit Barman demonstrates the Spectro Smoke Drone
Hackathon Focuses Youthful Attention on Pressing Problems.
By Dan Bolton
Tea Research Institute Secretary Joydeep Phukan said the “hackathon marks a significant milestone in bringing technological innovation to one of India’s most vital industries. I’m proud to announce the successful conclusion of the first-ever tea Tech Brew National Hackathon, a groundbreaking event aimed at addressing the challenges faced by the Indian Tea Industry.”
Phukan said the event was organized “under the esteemed leadership of Chairperson Nayantara Palchoudhuri, Tocklai staff, and industry professionals who judged the competition.”
Team Orthodox
The winning students, Team Leader Pragyan Sen Deka, 23, and Pranjit Barman, 22, designed a drone-mounted hyperspectral imaging eye that roams tea gardens, searching for indications of pest infestations. Suspended below the drone is a smoke chamber that delivers natural fumigants that pests avoid.
Pragyan Sen Deka
Fumigating crops with low-hanging smoke is an ancient, effective, and non-chemical method of driving pests away. Winning team leader Pragyan Sen Deka describes how a modern “Spectro Smoke” generator heats ferns and grass with electrically controlled nichrome wire, producing a downward-driven column of smoke that rises to the underside of leaves and drives away pests like the tea mosquito, one of several insects that reduces tea yields in India by an estimated 147 million kilos a year.
“This innovation promises to transform how we approach pest control, ensuring healthier crops and a more sustainable future for tea plantations,” writes Phukan.
The Spectro Smoke Drone has 1000kv 10-inch propellers producing around 3500g peak thrust. Its max payload capacity is around 2kg. The drone is powered by a 4000mah lipo battery, which gives it a flight duration of 15-18 minutes with no payload. The transmitter is the 2.4GHz FS i6, with a range of 1.5 km.
Team Neuro Linga (second place)
The second prize goes to Team Neuro Linga at the PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research in Coimbatore for designing an integrated weather and crop health monitoring system.
“Their innovative solution impressively combines AI and IoT to tackle pest control and crop health. Using sensors, cameras, and smart technologies, they’ve developed a comprehensive system that not only repels pests but also monitors and predicts pest outbreaks, ensuring healthier crops and a more sustainable future for the tea industry,” writes Phukan.
Team Doodle (third place)
Their innovative solution features a specialized RAG (retrieval augmented generation) model for tea pest detection, designed to minimize computational resources while delivering precise, domain-specific results. Utilizing a Phi2 model with 2 million parameters and an image classification model (ResNet), Team Doodle leverages research papers, and articles scraped via Jina AI to ensure accuracy and relevance. Additionally, minimal hardware is used to collect environmental data such as temperature and moisture, helping to prevent pest outbreaks with accurate and timely detection.
“Team Doodle’s approach represents a significant advancement in sustainable pest management for the tea industry. It combines cutting-edge AI with practical environmental monitoring,” writes Phukan.
Problems to Solve
Here is a list of problems students were asked to address:
Problem Statement 1: The tea industry faces significant challenges due to climate change, including water scarcity, temperature fluctuations, and soil degradation. Develop a technology-driven solution to help tea farmers adapt to changing climatic conditions, optimize water usage, and maintain soil health to ensure sustainable tea cultivation.
Problem Statement 2: Tea crops are vulnerable to various pests and diseases, which can devastate tea crops within a short period. Develop a predictive model using data analytics and machine learning to forecast outbreaks of pests and diseases, enabling pre-emptive action to protect crops and reduce the reliance on chemical pesticides.
Problem Statement 3: With climate change and changing weather patterns, the incidence of pest management has increased, with certain pests such as the Tea Mosquito Bug, Looper Caterpillar, and Green Thrips causing havoc in tea plantations. Develop technologies based on airwaves, sound waves, or biocontrol to control the outbreak of the Tea Mosquito Bug, Looper Caterpillar, and Green Thrips to showcase how it works in tea plantations.
Problem Statement 4: The tea plant Camellia sinensis is a wonder plant. Tea leaves are harvested to make various types of tea. The tea plant also produces tea seeds and flowers. Tea is high in various properties, such as antioxidants and flavonoids. Propose methods and technologies to convert tea into diversified products using tea leaves and waste using innovative technology.
Problem Statement 5: Tea is the second most consumed beverage after water globally. However, there is intense competition for tea as a beverage over other products. Some of the products sold as tea are not from the plant Camellia Sinensis. Develop technology-based solutions to promote tea amongst people from age 10 to 35 years, highlighting its many health benefits, which should be innovative and scalable to make tea the most sought-after drink. One may add non-technology-based suggestions to justify their technologies.
Hackathon Judges
Ms N Palchoudhuri, Chairperson TRA
Mr Dan Bolton, Tea Journalist, Canada
Mr S K Saria, Chairman, NBC TRA
Mr Kailyanjeet Borah, Vice Chairman Agriculture Committee TRA
Mr Abhijeet Hazarika, Tsigma Consultancy
Mr Jai Kejriwal, Council Member TRA
Dr Anoop Barooah, former Director TRA
Dr A Babu, Director TRA
Joydeep Phukan, Secretary TRA
Tea Research Association – Tocklai Institute
To delve into the science and processes behind a good cuppa, visit the Tocklai Institute, the world’s largest and oldest tea research center (founded in 1911). The labs there research microorganisms that inhibit plant disease and promote growth. There is also a tea museum and model tea factory exhibiting the machines that turn leaves into teapot-ready tea.
History
The establishment of the Scientific Department of the Indian Tea Association (ITA) in 1900 marked the beginning of a new era of tea research in India. This was consolidated with the creation of the Tocklai Experimental Station in 1911.
The formation of the Tea Research Association (TRA) in 1964, with Tocklai at the center of all activities, further expanded the horizon of tea research to cover the entire Northeast India. Research on all aspects of tea cultivation and processing is carried out at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, the world’s oldest and largest research station. Transfer of technology to its member estates is carried out through its advisory network covering 1,076 tea estates occupying 341,049 hectares (1,317 sq mi) of land spread over The South Bank, North Bank, Upper Assam, Cachar, Tripura, Dooars, Darjeeling and Terai. Tocklai has its regional R & D Centre at Nagrakata, West Bengal.
The organization undertakes basic and applied research on tea cultivation and processing in northeast India. A large chunk of the research work is done at Tocklai, while area-specific research for Dooars is carried out at NBRRDC, Nagrakata. Research on the pharmacological properties of black tea is carried out in collaboration with Kolkata and other institutes across India. The technologies developed through R&D activities are disseminated to the member gardens through a wide network of advisory personnel who conduct regular hands-on demonstrations and workshops.
Photos courtesy Team Orthodox | Tocklai Tea Research Center
Share this post India’s Tocklai Tea Research Institute in Jorhat announced the winners of the 2024 Tech Brew Hackathon competition, held on International Tea Day. The winning students received 50,000 rupees for tackling their choice of five industry challenges. Teams from 20 universities participated. | Episode 171 | 7 June 2024
