Harewelle Archive

Tea for Poverty Alleviation Presentation

Monjur Hossain, Managing Director PMTC (Bangladesh) Limited recently presented his paper “Tea for Poverty Alleviation” at the Environmental Justice Conference on the 28th May 2009.

The presentation focused on Monjur’s experience managing the “Tea for Poverty Alleviation” project in Panchagarh, Bangladesh in 2000. Working alongside Tetulia Tea Company Limited (TTCL), PMTC Bangladesh provided support to farmers whose only means of earning cash income from land was to sell stones excavated from the ecologically fragile land, which was also suitable for growing tea due to the acidic loamy soils.

The smallholder tea growers’ project was seen as directly addressing the main problems faced by poor farmers through the creation of new employment opportunities, micro-entrepreneurs and a sound base for marginal and poor farmers in rural areas.

Capacity building and technical assistance was provided to optimise commercial utilisation of fallow land in an ecologically sustainable manner, increasing tea production to cope with rapidly increasing domestic consumption and direct assist the national government programme for poverty alleviation.

The paper was extremely well received given the positive impact the programme had on reducing poverty amongst poor farmers in Panchagarh.