Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday formally inaugurated the newly established building of the Small Tea Growers’ Training and Research Centre at Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat.
Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Sonowal emphasized on the importance of technological advancements in tea cultivation for producing quality tea in a highly competitive international marketplace.
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He said Assam tea has been able to carve out a niche for itself due to its unique characteristics.
Commenting on the significance of organized training, the chief minister stressed on the importance of R&D and training centers to equip small growers with the necessary skill and technical knowhow needed to produce quality tea.
Addressing the gathering, the Speaker, Assam Legislative Assembly, HN Goswami expressed his gratitude to the chief minister for selecting Tocklai as the site for the Training and Research Center.
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The industries and commerce minister CM Patowary announced the plan to establish an organic tea laboratory at Tocklai while assuring that the government will aid financially for its establishment.
The state-of-the-art Research and Training Centre, established with financial assistance from the state government will cater to all R and D needs of small tea growers.
The centre will facilitate residential training on basic as well as advanced topics on tea production, tea quality, organic tea and diversified and specialty teas, among others.
It will also offer 24×7 technical assistance to small growers on all aspects of tea cultivation.
A total of approximately 1.5 lakhs small tea growers contribute about 49 per cent of the total tea production.
It is expected that the newly established training and research Center will not just bring about qualitative improvements to the teas produced by this sector, but also pave the way for their socio-economic upliftment.