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The Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Unilever PVT Ltd, a leading private company in Sri Lanka, to implement a joint program to protect Sri Lankan tea’s sustainable tea name in the international market.
Under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, the signing of this MoU under the name of Public Private People’s Partnership Program for the Sustainable Plantation Sector was done at the Ministry of Plantation Industries.
The primary objectives of signing this MoU are to strengthen the tea industry in Sri Lanka and to produce tea with accepted standardization for the international market.
In order to maintain the tea industry as an environmentally friendly cultivation, the report on the national framework for sustainable biomass cultivation and source certification for the Sri Lankan tea industry prepared by the Wanaropa DeVots Institute, which operates under the auspices of the Ethical Tea Partnership organization, was also handed over on this occasion.
Especially for drying tea, 560,000 metric tons of firewood is required per year and for that 1.5 million trees have to be cut down per year. Because of this, obtaining firewood in a manner that does not cause environmental damage in tea production and implementing alternatives to it have been introduced through this national framework.
Plantation companies have limited afforestation for this firewood requirement, but 65 percent of tea producing companies still do not have permanent afforestation. Still they get firewood from outside parties.
This national framework was also handed over to the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera.
All the countries of the world have expressed the international agreement to implement Net Zero Emission target. Sri Lanka has also signed it. Therefore, we should reduce the use of firewood for drying tea in tea production in our country as well as implement alternatives to prevent forest damage.
The minister who expressed his views on this said that this program, which is being implemented with the cooperation of public and private sector as well as public sector for the advancement of tea cultivation in Sri Lanka, will be able to maintain the quality and standard of tea in Sri Lanka.
And to protect the name of Ceylon tea, the production of rejected tea should be brought down as much as possible. The minister also mentioned that the B-60 policy implemented for that purpose has been made mandatory and if the policy is not implemented, it is the responsibility of the Ceylon Tea Board to revoke the licenses issued to the relevant companies.
At least 60 percent of the harvested tea leaves should be maintained in high quality by the respective tea factories. The minister also mentioned that if this is not done, the international demand for Sri Lankan tea will decline and eventually this industry may collapse.
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