‘Lack of interest in agriculture brings tea cultivation down’

‘Lack of interest in agriculture brings tea cultivation down’

When this reporter met Jens Martin Zickgraf he was astonished to find himself greeted in the Badaga language, “Ollangithaya? (Are you fine?)” by the German. But it was no wonder for Zickgraf has been interacting with people of the Badaga community for a long time. Zickgraf is a research associate in the Department of Anthropology, Ludwig Maximillians University, Munich and recently arrived in Chennai to make a presentation about his research at the Madras Institute of Development Studies.

Zickgraf came to the Nilgris through his senior, Prof Frank Heidemann, who has been doing research there for the past 25 years. Zickgraf made his first visit in February 2011 and the second in November 2011. This is his third visit to the Nilgiris, where he stays in a rented typical Badaga house on Club Road, Kotagiri. His research, ‘Market and Community in India: A Conversation in the Nilgiris’, focuses on the tea market scenario in Badaga villages. He will wind up his research in 2014.

Speaking to City Express, Zickgraf shared some interesting information on tea markets and monetary flow within the Badaga community. “The Badaga community is well identified through its Badugu language. This is the one major community one can find in the Nilgiris. The prime means of livelihood for the Badagas is agriculture -- growing vegetables in indigenous ways and tea cultivation,” he said.

“The small tea growers pluck the tea leaves and give them either to leaf agents or directly to the factories. Tea factories also get leaves from leaf agents. The brokers get the tea powder from factories and give them to warehouses for auction. In auction, as per the grades the price is set and it is exported or comes into wholesale trade. This is the actual system that is followed in the tea markets of Badaga villages. But in recent years, the tea growers get a higher price from the factories than from the leaf agents so some of them give the leaves directly to the factories” he said.

“But most Badagas prefer leaf agents because the leaf collection sheds are run mostly by relatives of the tea growers. So they can get advance payment even without any leaves, since they are regular suppliers of tea leaves to that particular shed. The shed owners recover the advance when the borrowers bring their leaves,” Zickgraf explained.

 “After the re-invention of tea as a cash crop, the Badagas began losing their agricultural skills since tea growing requires only a minimal work force compared to traditional agriculture in the fields. When the Badagas were involved in agriculture they used to visit their fields regularly. Now tea cultivation is common among them and they depend largely on labourers. Adding to the burden on tea growers, besides monsoon failure, is the shortage of labourers and resultant higher wages. Monsoon failure brings a hike in tea prices and whenever tea prices increase it becomes difficult to maintain the tea plants. If there is a good season, the prices fall. Hand plucking provides good quality and maintains the tea bush properly.”

“The future of the Badaga people is not fully dependent on tea cultivation, since the youth lack interest in agriculture. The Badagas Zickgraf  met in Chennai are engaged in various jobs, none of them related to tea cultivation or agriculture. “This is one of the factors in the dwindling agriculture in Badaga villages as they have distanced themselves from their own fields. Future generations must make an effort to revive agriculture and tea cultivation” concludes Zickgraf.

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