More farmers take up tea production in Taraba

More farmers have gone into tea farming in Kakara and Nguroje areas of Sardauna LGA of Taraba State. Daily Trust gathered that the demands for tea leaves by processing companies across the country was responsible for the increase in the number of farmers engaging in the activity. Our correspondent further revealed that more tea farms […]

More farmers have gone into tea farming in Kakara and Nguroje areas of Sardauna LGA of Taraba State.
Daily Trust gathered that the demands for tea leaves by processing companies across the country was responsible for the increase in the number of farmers engaging in the activity.
Our correspondent further revealed that more tea farms are coming up across the Kakara and Nguroje areas as farmers are getting good prices for tea.
Musa Saidu, one of the tea farmers in the area, said there was high demand for tea by small and medium scale processing companies buying dry tea leaves from the area.
He said the tea produced on the Mambilla Plateau could compete in terms of quality and taste with any tea produced in any part of the world.
Saidu stated further that most of the tea in the market were sourced from the Mambilla Plateau and processed and branded under different names.
He explained that on a daily basis middlemen across the country buy dry tea leaves from the area as raw material and even exported them to neighbouring countries.
Therefore, stakeholders in the producing area of Sardauna have expressed the need for the government to attract investors into tea production.
Sanusi Muhammad Galadima, a stakeholder in the area, said the Mambilla Plateau was the only place where tea was produced in the country and expressed the need to attract investors to boost production.
He said the Kakara Tea Company established over 40 years ago was the only company in the area and had been a source of employment for many people.
He stated that the company needed to be expanded and its machinery upgraded to boost tea production to enable for better income generation.
Sanusi Muhammad Galadima, pledged to work with relevant authorities, including the Bank of Agriculture and Export Promotion Council, to attract more investment into tea production to generate more employment and income for the communities in the producing area of the state.
He said if tea farming improved and more farmers engaged in it the local communities stood to benefit more in terms of employment and income.