Sustainable plantation sector can be a big employment generator

The emergence of plantations in India was a part of the commercialisation strategy adopted by the British planters. Geographical spread and development of plantations in the world was in tune with the expansion of colonialism and imperialism.

- Tushar K Mahanti

The growth and spread of plantation in India is no way different from the expansion and development of plantation elsewhere in the world.

The plantation has an interface of agriculture and industry. It is a type of commercial farming where a single crop is grown on a large area. Plantation crops are considered to be the major segment of the horticulture crops and the mainstay of agrarian economies in many states and union territories of India. They contribute a significant amount to the national exchequer and to the country's exports by way of taxes and export earnings.

Major plantation crops in India include tea, coffee, coconut, oil palm, cashew, rubber and cocoa. India is the largest producer and consumer of cashew nut and arecanut. Tea and coffee are the main and oldest industries in the country which provide ample employment opportunities to the people and hold immense potential for export. Above all, plantation crops like coconut and arecanut provides adequate interspaces for intercropping of seasonal crops and thus ensures the food security to a great extent. Nevertheless, in India, plantation crops have been continuously facing the problem of lack of investment and depressed yields, and are in great need of modernisation.

Tea industry facing serious challenges

When we talk of the plantation industry in India, tea is the first name that comes to our mind. The tea industry in India is nearly two centuries old. It occupies an important place and plays a very useful part in the national economy. Owing to certain specific soil and climatic requirements its cultivation of tea is confined to only certain parts of the country.