JORHAT: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the newly constructed building of Small Tea Growers’ Training and Research Centre at Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, on Thursday.
Sonowal said, “Assam tea has been able to carve out a niche for itself due to its unique characteristics. Technological advancements in tea cultivation for producing quality tea in a highly competitive international marketplace is very essential and we are working on it. Training on research and development is important to equip small tea growers with necessary skills and technical knowhow to produce quality tea.”
Addressing the gathering, state industries and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary announced the plan to establish an Organic Laboratory at Tocklai and assured small tea growers of support.
The training and research centre was founded with financial assistance from the state government and will cater to research and development needs of small tea growers. The centre will facilitate residential training on basic and advanced methods on tea production, tea quality, organic and diversified/specialty tea. It will also offer 24x7 technical assistance to small growers on various aspects of tea cultivation.