Age profile of commercial tea lands in Sri Lanka

The average tea productivity in Sri Lanka is considered to be amongst the lowest, compared to some of the other tea producing countries, a situation very probably true, despite uncertainties of the actual tea extent in production. Some recent articles in newspapers have even surmised that, unlike in the past glorious days, new technology is lagging behind in this country, whilst in the other competing countries new technology had progressed significantly. The image thus created could even imply that the underlying cause for the present malady of low productivity is a lack of adequate ‘improved technology’? If we are to improve the productivity of our existing tea areas, a proper re-appraisal of the true ground situation is required in respect of the conditions and circumstances that have led to the prevailing low national productivity, especially amongst the corporate sector plantations.

Scientific research into all aspects of tea production and processing must certainly continue vigorously, especially in the areas of cost reduction of production and processing, including mechanization/automation of field and processing centres for sustained higher productivity and quality improvement.

What seems to be overlooked is the reason why there is currently only a limited or marginal response to some of the best available agricultural technology which local technology has been and continues to be implemented in other producing countries? The poor response in most cases is primarily due to the degraded impoverished soils that have been excessively acidified and depleted of humus (as a result of having been on an almost pure artificial fertilizer ‘treadmill’ for decades), and the much debilitated state of the ageing seedling tea that has surpassed its economic viability, yet accounting for a significant proportion of the tea in production within the corporate sector.

Given the opportunity of the optimum stand of healthy tea bushes per unit of cultivated land, with reasonably good soil fertility level and with the proper and timely implementation of the available local technology, yield levels comparable, if not better than those achieved anywhere else in the tea world, have been achieved, both amongst some of the corporate sector plantations as well as in the small-holder sector.

The inadequate implementation of certain good agricultural practices amongst a few is another area limiting productivity. Such inadequate implementation is partly due to the escalating high costs of labour and materials and the consequent need to ‘control’ the cost of production to balance with sale averages, thereby attempting to gain the margin for survival in the short term! This equation requires careful re-appraisal. The ever rising labour wages and cost of materials, including fuel and electricity, coupled with the prevailing low productivity of both tea and labour (the latter being the lowest compared to other producing countries), and the increasing high social and welfare costs, continue to erode into the profit margins of the corporate sector.

Productivity levels
A significant proportion of the Sri Lankan tea plantations are ageing with almost 30% of the existing tea in production being very old seedling tea with low bush density of highly mixed low-yielding hybrids of the chinensis and assamica varieties. This seedling tea extent is well over 80 years of age (with some over 100 years), thus having surpassed their economic productivity. The total tea extent in production in both the corporate and smallholding sector is assessed to be 188,425 ha, (78,189 ha and 110,236 ha, respectively). Of the total old seedling tea extent of 55,960 ha, almost 75% belongs to the corporate sector. In view of escalating costs, the overall replanting envisaged at a proposed healthy rate of 2% per annum has come almost to a stand-still, with a current average of just around 0.7% per annum in the corporate sector. Of the estimated total of 132,465 ha of replanted clonal tea (vegetatively propagated selected cultivars) that is presently in production in the country, almost 70% is within the smallholder sector, much of which is younger tea! On the other hand, the replanted clonal tea extent of 36,494 ha in the corporate sector are themselves ageing, with a significant proportion having already surpassed 30 to 40 years in age.
The comparative low overhead costs and the consequent better profit margins had led to a rapid replanting and planting rates amongst the smallholder sector, so much so that the total smallholder tea extent of about 75,800 ha in 1983 had increased to 118,300 ha in 2005 (an increase by 36%), with a current mean productivity level of over 1,800 kg/ha! Such rapid expansion in the smallholder sector became possible as a result of improved infra-structure and processing facilities encouraged by the state with foreign-funded grants and loans, and being profit-driven with the combined partnership with private tea factory owners. The higher productivity of this sector has been achieved with available local technology.
The urgently needed greater thrusts to improve national productivity are in the areas of: (a) soil amelioration to achieve the needed soil fertility levels for better nutrient and moisture retention and optimum crop response; (b) replanting of carefully selected old unproductive tea lands with adequate soil depth, with recommended cultivars; (c) infilling of existing vacancies with adequate soil depth; (d) proper bush management with the needed sanitary measures for maintaining healthy cropping frames; (e) a greater attention to the eco-friendly management of the widely prevailing destructive perennial pests; and (f) improved cost management for all the above agronomic practices. The required technology for all such improvements is available locally.
The needed greater research thrust however, is to neutralize the ever rising costs of labour and materials through improved productivity of both the tea crop and labour, along with the overall improved responses for optimal inputs with proper cost manageent. The sustained output of value-added quality end produce that is in demand by the trade, is another area of thrust for the partnership of research and plantations management, for the continued survival and competitive advantage of the local tea industry. The declining distinct quality advantage of the specific tea growing regions -- an unique advantage this country has --, requires aggressive revival.

Declining tea population
Apart from death due to pests and diseases, a multitude of which serious ones are abundantly present in this country (with unique serious problems found nowhere else), the regular pruning carried out at the end of every growth cycle ranging from 2 to 5 years, continues to cause the weak and unhealthy tea bushes to succumb, resulting in vacancies and lowered bush population. By a programme of regular infilling of existing vacancies amongst the viable seedling fields, it was possible to sustain the bush population amongst these fields at optimal levels in the past, which significant proportions of infilled younger tea helped to sustain reasonable productivity levels. Although some of these good practices were gradually re-introduced by the management of the two state corporations during the post-nationalization period, these efforts remained inadequate.

With financial assistance from foreign aided projects, a limited extent of old tea was replanted during the period of management by the state corporations. The rate of replacement of senile bushes and infilling of resulting vacancies amongst the old seedling fields, however, had slowed down significantly, with the result of having to sustain significant extents of old fields with very poor bush population and the consequent low productivity. Existing vacancies within the old seedling fields had led to large-scale soil erosion of exposed areas, adding to a further decline of productive bushes, which areas have presently turned out to be unfit for further retention under tea. The final result is that these areas have now come to be pronounced as ‘marginal’ for economic tea production, with the only viable alternative for such areas being for timber species or fuel-wood plantations.

It is in this scenario that the management of the state-owned plantations came to be re-privatized in 1992 and handed back to the different privately-owned management companies. Varying degrees of efforts had since gone into resuscitate this corporate sctor assets, with borrowed finance, mostly with heavy borrowing from local banks. Despite escalating costs of labour and material, current efforts are presently into value addition and aggressive marketing of produce, as well as by diversifying the unproductive lands into alternate viable ventures, thus attempting to gain better profit margins. Although the assets managed by these private management companies are state-owned, the replanting of old tea after realizing the importance of replacing the ageing old seedling tea is slowly re-gaining some degree of momentum in a few companies, even at the present high costs and long gestation period for pay-back on investments.

In contrast to 46.6% of clonal tea in production in the corporate sector, the proportion of clonal tea in production in the smallholder sector is an impressive 87.0%, a significant proportion of which latter category is younger clonal tea (as per 2005 survey)!

The average yield in the smallholder sector in 2005, with a total extent of 110,236 ha in production (of which 87% is clonal tea), was 1,853 kg/ha. On the other hand, the corresponding yield level in the corporate sector, with a total tea extent of 78,189 ha in production (with only 46.6% in clonal tea), was 1,459 kg/ha. A fair proportion of the younger clonal tea in the corporate sector had been regretfully replanted in shallow soil areas due to poor land selection, with the consequent poor performance. A significant proportion of the older clonal tea in the high, mid and low elevation regions of the corporate sector have been damaged by the persistent incidence of shot-hole borer beetle and parasitic nematodes (the latter being a specific problem in this country), whilst in addition to the above, large extents of clonal tea in the lower elevation have been severely devastated with high casualties by live-wood tea termites (a problem not encountered anywhere else in the tea world).

The combined effects of such specific problems have resulted in very low yields, more particularly amongst the replanted clonal tea. It is further evident that the corporate sector overall mean yield is low, due to the very low mean yield of 1,050 kg/ha of the old seedling tea with poor bush stand that yet accounts for 53% of total corporate sector tea extent of 78,189 ha in production.

Replanting senile tea
Replanting activity that commenced in the mid 1950s, reached peak activity in the 1960s and 1970s. Whilst under the management of the two state plantation corporations in the post-nationalization period, such progressive activity in the late 1970s and 1980s, was made possible, with externally funded tea development projects.

Thereafter, with the drying up of external funding and with further increases in labour wages and materials costs, these activities had almost ground to a halt.

At today’s costs of labour and materials, replanting one hectare of tea in the high country, if done properly as per recommended scientific methods, would cost in the range of around 1.5 to 1.7 million rupees (about US $ 14,000 ha), of which amount, about 70% is labour cost. The pay-back period for such heavy investments would be as long as 16 years or more. At today’s excessive production costs and the unpredictable market scenario, this long pay-back period has put off many a prospective agriculturist.
In view of the relatively shorter pay-back period in the warmer low elevation tea areas, replanting in these areas is relatively more cost-effective. This has been one of the encouraging factors for the expansion of the smallholder sector that predominates in these areas. With about 13,880 ha of tea in bearing in the low-country corporate sector, at the expected optimal replanting rate of 2%, the annual extent to be replanted in this category would be about 278 ha, which at the estimated average cost of Rs 1.2 million per ha (including a minimum of one year rehabilitation under grass), would require an annual investment of Rs 334 million.

On the other hand, replanting at higher elevations, including Uva is more costlier, with a longer pay-back period. With about 25,900 ha of tea in bearing in the Uva, the least replanted region with 70% of the productive extent being yet in seedling tea, at the proposed optimal replanting rate of 2%, the annual extent to be replanted in this region would be about 518 ha. At a modest replanting cost of Rs 1.5 million per ha (including two years rehabilitation under grass), this extent would require a total investment of Rs 777 million per annum.

Land selection for replanting requires careful scrutiny and certification by a competent panel of experts with proven track record. Such inspection and certification was the practice during the tea replanting subsidy scheme in the years gone and the majority of such inspected and certified replanted areas are performing satisfactorily well to this date. Since the suspension of replanting schemes and the associated certification, there has been instances of failures amongst the newly replanted clearings, due mainly to poor land selection. With the implementation of the proposed replanting scheme, a panel of Visiting Agents selected and approved by the implementing agency, should be re-introduced for certifying the replanting programme.

In view of the urgency to regenerate the senile tea areas of the corporate sector, state intervention with foreign-funded projects should be the way out to circumvent the problem of sustaining the expected replanting rates.

Subsidized investments are also needed for infilling vacancies, as well as for the urgent improvement of the yet viable, but debilitated soils in others. It is by such integrated improvements with state and private sector partnership that this country could sustain its competitive advantage across the tea producing world in the next few decades.

It is presumed by some that the present national average yield of about 1,400 to 1,500 kg/ha is less than about 50% of the national achievable yield!

Such optimistic assessments would correspond to a national productivity of around 3000 kg/ha – a high national yield which is questionable, even in the long term.

This is especially so under the existing conditions of the significant extents of long exploited degraded soils amongst the plantations area and the need for survival against a plethora of destructive perennial pests, none of which is seen in the current productivity world leader (Kenya).

Whilst the national productivity improvement should be aimed at a practically achievable level of 1,800 to 2,000 kg/ha to help neutralize cost escalation in the medium to long term, what is even more relevant for implementation is, apart from the increased quantity, the consistent quality improvement of the end produce that will sustain the position as the leading quality tea producer in the world, receiving premium prices, whibh in turn will undoubtedly complement to help neutralize cost escalation.