Ramjhora Estate, an Example of Neglect That Affects All
BBC News has an article about Ramjhora Estate in northern West Bengal, close to the border of Bhutan. The article laments the crisis the region has entered into due to the closure of the tea garden many years ago after the tea prices world wide fell, and the garden owners couldn’t efficiently manage it.
At first glance, it may seem to be the case of managerial mismanagement and often the finger points to the owners for destroying the livelyhoods of thousands of people. But as is often the case, there are many layers to the story, and unfortunate victims of the dislocation are the workers who loose a livelihood, the owners who loose a source of income, and customers who loose a source of good product.
Failure of tea gardens in India stems from a variety of reasons, not in the least
- Failure on part of owners to adopt a growth oriented strategy: Garden owners need to start thinking of using innovation as a growth strategy, rather than try to manufacture large volumes at the lowest price. Innovative products with greater value addition will fetch higher prices resulting in improved health of the garden overall. Innovations need to be in product quality, appearance, and product distribution chain
- Failure on part of owners to market their product: if you make an innovative product and no one knows about it, its not possible to fetch a good price. Marketing ones garden so that the world knows about it and learns to appreciate it, is a surefire method to fetch a better price
- Failure to improve labor relations: Todays customer is very savvy. If the garden owners think that manufacturing the product is enough, they are wrong. Today, the customer demands that a fair wage be paid to the worker that produces the product they have come to love so much.
Stories such as the Ramjohra Estate tell us that producing tea is an economic activity that benefits all three, the growers plant it, the labourers who pick it and the customers who enjoy it. When one leg of this three legged stool falls out, it leads to a dislocation which affects all three parties.
