Wokha's 104 organic tea growers seek a processing factory to go big

Organic tea growers in Nagaland's Wokha district want the government to help set up a tea processing factory, saying it is the main thing standing between their produce and bigger markets, Eastern Mirror reported.

The Wokha District Small Tea Growers Association (WDSTGA), which ran one of the busier stalls at the recently concluded Tokhu Emong festival in Wokha, now has 104 registered organic growers across the district.

From backyard plots to a cooperative

Association president R Mhabemo Lotha said small-scale tea cultivation in the area began around 2008. As demand for organic tea grew, growers formally came together in 2018 and registered as a cooperative society. The association received recognition from the Tea Board of India the same year.

Lotha said members follow strictly organic practices without artificial fertilisers, chemicals or growth boosters. He added that while tea is grown in several parts of Wokha, not every producer in the district is a certified organic grower.

Hand-made, and hard to scale

The biggest constraint, he said, is the lack of a local processing unit. Black and green tea are currently processed by hand, which is labour-intensive and caps how much the growers can produce and sell. A factory in Wokha, he argued, would raise output, cut labour costs and make the district a serious player in the tea trade.

The growers say the district's climate, fertile hill soil and biodiversity make it well suited to organic tea on a larger scale.

Training, fairs and dried wild apple

Members have trained in Tezpur, Jorhat and Darjeeling, exhibited in New Delhi and taken part in the Hornbill Festival six times. The association has also branched into food processing: it holds FSSAI registration for dry fruit processing and currently makes dried wild apple products.

The association has asked the state government to back tea in the same way it has supported rubber and coffee plantations, saying that with steady help tea could become one of Wokha's most promising crops.

A wider small-grower story

Wokha's growers are part of a broader shift across the North East, where small tea growers outside Assam's big estates, in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya, are trying to build niche organic and specialty brands. Many face the same hurdle Wokha describes: without nearby processing, green leaf has to be sold cheaply or processed by hand in small batches.