Farming system has undergone various changes from time to time with new technologies. For higher productivity, heavy doses of fertilizers and other agrochemicals are applied. These practices even though increases yield, make the plant system more vulnerable to various stresses like infestation of pests, drought besides deleterious effect on the environment. Because of the effect of synthetic chemicals and the associated degradation on environmental quality, some ecologists and environmentalists have promoted the other extreme, i.e., to demand agricultural commodities produced in accordance with a specialized system that is totally independent of any form of synthetic chemical influences. This has led to the emergence of a movement towards specified farming concept based on the traditional farming philosophy which is popularly known as ‘organic farming’ with slogans like ‘back to nature’. People and groups committed to these concepts began to spread this message all over the world. In addition, there was growing health consciousness in the population of the world, especially among those of the developed world, due to the growing realization that the highly toxic chemical residues could accommodate in human beings through the food chain. Hence, there was a move to purchase food items which were organically-grown. In fact, organic agriculture developed from the philosophical views of Rudolf Steiner and later Lady Eve Balfour, who in the 1940s founded the Soil Association, UK. Today more than 130 countries produce certified organic foods and beverages, 50% are of from developing countries (DC).

India has recently launched the National Programme for Organic Production, which provides an institutional mechanism for the implementation of National Standards for Organic Products through a National Accreditation policy and programme. This accreditation system includes certification of organic farms, products and processes as per the National Standards of Organic Products (NSOP). A certification – “India Organic”, communicating the authenticity and the origin of the product, will be granted on the basis of compliance with the NSOP. This certification mark will be used only by such exporters, manufacturers and processors whose produce is duly certified by the accredited, inspection and certification agencies.

The concept of organic farming is gaining ground with Indian tea planters too. India, the largest producer and consumer of tea in the world, is well known for availability of a wide variety of teas. India produced 840 million kg of tea during 2000. With the onset of liberalization, the Indian tea industry is on the threshold of a new global competition and therefore, there is an urgent need to focus on retaining and improving the competitive advantages. The same can be achieved only by improving the productivity and quality, containing the cost of production, enhancing the marketing ability and value addition. In this context, production of organic tea, a value added product, assumes considerable significance. Unlike the market trend for tea in general, demand for organic tea like other food items has also been growing rapidly since it was introduced to the world market in the late 1980’s. Over the past decade, organic tea consumption has grown by about 10 percent globally. Reflecting this strong demand, organically grown teas command a premium of 30 – 40 % over conventionally-produced tea. Hence, organic tea production is more remunerative than conventional tea production even after taking into consideration the lower productivity and higher production costs.

The growth in the production of organic tea from 1990 to 2000 has been 20 fold. The production of organic/organic in conversion tea was 1, 50, 000 kg in 1990 and it increased to 21, 50, 000 kg in 2000. In India, the cultivation of organic tea started in Darjeeling during 1986 and gradually spread to the tea areas of Assam and South India.

• produce food and beverages of high nutritional quality in sufficient quantity;
• work with natural systems rather than seeking to dominate them;
• encourage and enhance biological cycles within the farming system,
   involving micro-organisms; soil flora and fauna, plants and animals;
• maintain and increase the long term fertility of soils;
• use as far as possible renewable on-farm resources in locally organized
   agricultural systems;
• avoid all form of pollution that may result from agricultural techniques;
• maintain the genetic diversity of the agricultural system and its
   surroundings; including the protection of plant and wildlife habitats;
• work as much as possible within a closed system with regard to organic
   matter and nutrient element;
• preserve and enhance traditional and indigenous knowledge;
• allow agricultural producers an adequate return and satisfaction from
   their work including a safe working environment;
• consider the wider social and ecological impact of the farming system.

Attitude towards conversion to organic tea growing

• Some tea planters believe organic tea growing is not a fad anymore but
    thebest approach for increasing productivity and sustainability.

• Tea planters who are considering a conversion to organic cultivation at
   alater date have a fear on potential decrease in yield. Despite this, the
   increased labour requirement is found as a barrier to adoption. In organic
   cultivation several factors can lead to increased labour requirements:
   weed control must be performed manually. The thermal weed control is
   not practiced in the tea estates of India. Further, the production patterns
   tend to be more diversified.

• Organic manures contain less amount of potassium. Some manure may
   berich in nitrogen (N) but low in potassium (K). For example, some of the
   oil cakes contain 7.3% N whereas K content is only 1.3%.
   This necessitates application of large quantities of organic manures to
   the organic tea plantations caused practical problems to the planters.
   Further, organic manures are quite expensive especially when it involves
   transportation from production site to the plantation site.

• Profitability of organic cultivation is influenced considerably by the ability
   to secure price premiums. The lack of adequate marketing channels can
   prevent an organic tea producer from securing the premium for some or
   all of his produce. Planters are also unsure whether the premium will
   remain at least at the current level. Tea planters are also afraid that
   increasing the supply level might lead to a collapse in price premiums.
   But this fear could be decreased by heightening consumer awareness of
   the merits of organic products and production methods.

Why to undergo organic certification

The advantages according to the certification agency are that it acts as a trust building system between farmers and customers, helps in authentication of the product, enables transparency and strengthens the position of the primary producer and helps in market promotion of product. The certification includes inspection at all stages of production and marketing.

Organizations promoting organic concept

● International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)
● The Soil Association Cetification Ltd (SAC) in UK
● The United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS)
● The California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in USA
● ECOCERT International, Germany
● SKAL, Zwolle, The Netherlands
● Institute for Marketecology (IMO), Switzerland etc.

Key cultivation techniques

Tea qualifies as organic only when active use of environment friendly techniques are employed and the system is approved by inspecting authority to be truly organically farmed. Since an organic unit should be a self-sustaining system, farm designing at the time of establishment of new organic tea plantation is crucial for optimum utilization of resources within the plantation itself. Topography of the land and varieties of tea to be planted determine the basic design of the organic farm at the functional level. Despite this, the estate must have trees, bunds, cattle shed, compost yard, store house etc to enable it to become a self supporting system within a reasonable time. The workers in the organic tea estates are encouraged to raise animals-primarily cows and poultry. The resultant slurry could be passed through a simple gas plant, which provides methane gas for use as fuel and organic manure in the form of slurry which is comparatively better in quality and cheaper source of fertilization. Important techniques required to be adopted to achieve sustainable production and productivity are described below.

Nursery and planting material

Genetically engineered seeds or planting materials are not used in the nursery of the organic tea estates as their use is prohibited in the organic field. Low input responsive clones or seed stocks having wide adaptability with tolerant to different stresses are only considers for new planting.

The basis of insect, disease and nematode management in organic farming systems is the reliance on the inherent equilibrium in nature: most insect pests have natural enemies that keep their numbers in check. Included in the natural enemies category are insect predators (insects that consume part or all of pest insects), parasites (insects that use other insects to produce their offspring, thereby killing the pest insect in the process), and pathogens (diseases that kill or decrease the growth rate of insect pests). Predatory insects on organic farms include lady beetles, lacewings, and spiders. Parasitic insects include wasps and flies that lay their eggs in/on pest insects,such as larvae or caterpillars (see biocontrol section under insect pest management part II)
On organic tea estates, emphasis should ideally be on the use of varieties resistant to pest and diseases. Neem-based pesticides produced from neem karnel extracts are used to repel pests. Spraying of diluted cow urine was frequently practiced. The extracts derived from the aerial parts (leaves and stem) of Artimisia vulgaris, Urtica dioica, Polygonum runcinetum and Eupatorium glandulosum (see biocontrol section under insect pest management part II) which are profusely growing in the tea plantations are used for their antifeedant action against some leaf eating pests. In addition, the extracts of lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus, C. nardus, and Tagetes patula are also used as repellant. These botanicals are being used carefully and infrequently. Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) (sometimes referred to as biodynamic preparation 508) is used as spray to counter fungal disease

• BD 506. Wilted Dandelion flower leaves are sewed in cow mesentery and
   sun dried; it separates the metabolic from the respiratory system of the
   heap.

• BD 507. Extract of Vbalerian flower, stored in dark bottles; acts as the
   thermostat of the heap, regulating its temperature.

• BD 508. Dried Equisetum shoots - a tea is made in a vat, covered and
   filled with rain water. The tea is sprinkled, which acts as the immune
   system of the compost heap.

• Requirement of potassium is usually met by the addition of wood ash.
   Basic slag, natural rock phosphate, limestone, chalk, gypsum etc are
   used occasionally with the prior approval of the inspection body.

• Forecast for 2005 indicates that the EU market for organic food could
   reach a retail value between £20 and £30 billion.

• An average of 28% growth rate and local supply unable to satisfy
   increasing domestic demand, EU imports of organic products account, on
   average, for 40% of total sale offering excellent opportunities for DCs
   to export.

• Estimate of global trade of organic product is US$ 100 billion by 2006.

• Demand for organic tea like other food items has also been growing
    rapidly since it was introduced in the late 1980’s. Organic tea
   consumption has bgrown by about 10 percent globally.

• Germany, show a high percentage of sales through speciality shops (farm
   shops, organic food shops, health food shops etc.) suggesting a positive
   relationship between organic sales and specialized outlets since organic
   products were initially purchased by ‘committed consumers to the
   organic philosophy’.

• Growth in the organic market will require the conversion of occasional
   buyers into regular organic buyers through large retail outlets.

• Personal contacts are considered very important in establishing the
   organic market.

• The EU average for consumer price premiums in 2000 varied from 31%
   above conventional prices for organic red table wine up to 113% for
   organic chicken.

• Organic teas command a premium of 30–40 % over conventionally-
   produced tea.

• Price premiums also varied between different countries and distribution
   by sales channels played an important role in this regard. In countries
   where general food shops were very active in the marketing of organic
   food, consumer price premiums were usually lower than in countries
   where organic food shops or direct sales provided the main channels.

• The countries with major markets of organic tea mostly do not
   domestically produce tea and therefore the demand for certified organic
   tea is growing at a rapid rate all over the world with Europe and the US
   leading the way