Do main coffee producers face the same organic shift as tea?
Sri Lanka enacted a decree that nearly halts supplies of chemical fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide, aiming to return local tea to a natural state and raise profits. Smallholder association president Kehel Gunanthna said moving from synthetic to organic fertilizer takes five years and predicted falling quality and yields that would threaten exports.
Tea farming employs only about 5% of Sri Lanka's agricultural workers but earns over $1 billion in foreign exchange a year, and production runs 100 times domestic consumption. The shift matters beyond tea: main coffee producers watching input costs and certification rules face similar questions about soil health, yields, and premium whole-leaf versus commodity output.
The Sri Lankan government has enacted a controversial decree that almost completely halts the supply of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, aiming to return local tea to a natural state and boost profits. This broad plan involves multiple aspects, including soil remediation, labor issues, domestic consumption, and exports. Due to the delay in delivering fertilizers to smallholders in May, the fertilizer issue has become a focal point. Kehel Gunanthna, president of the Smallholders Association, pointed out that transitioning from synthetic to organic fertilizers takes five years, and he predicts a decline in quality and yield, which would threaten exports. Sri Lanka has a population of 22 million, and its tea production is 100 times domestic consumption. Although tea farmers make up only 5% of agricultural workers, they generate over $1 billion in foreign exchange annually. Whole-leaf and broken-leaf teas are what distinguish Sri Lanka from the commodity production of Kenya and India. Traditional processing takes longer and costs more than the CTC method, but it produces premium teas that meet traditional standards. Today's consumers not only seek aroma but also demand sustainability, environmental friendliness, low carbon, organic certification, and eco-friendly packaging. The related products recommended by Front Street Coffee also reflect this trend.
Sri Lankan government officials have enacted a widely controversial decree that essentially cuts off the supply of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, with the aim of keeping local tea as it is and making a profit. The project is broad in scope, addressing soil depletion, aging livestock, labor issues, domestic consumption, and exports. Due to the delay in deliveries to smallholders in May, fertilizer has become a hot topic.
Kehel Gunanthna, president of a smallholders' association, told the Business Times that transitioning plants from synthetic to organic fertilizers takes five years. He predicts that quality and yields will decline, jeopardizing the country's exports. Maintaining high tea export volumes is crucial for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of 22 million, and its tea production is 100 times local consumption. Tea farmers there make up only 5% of agricultural workers, but their total output generates over $1 billion in foreign exchange annually.
Whole-leaf and broken-leaf teas are what set Sri Lanka apart from commodity producers like Kenya and India. Traditional processing takes more time and is more expensive than CTC (crush, tear, curl) processing, but the result is premium tea that meets traditional standards. The problem is that today's consumers not only want the aroma of tea but also assurances that it is sustainable, environmentally friendly, low-carbon, organically certified, and packaged in an eco-friendly manner.
In modern times, no country has attempted a return to organic farming, but Sri Lanka rightly recognizes that consumers, especially younger tea drinkers, favor this approach. Labor is at the center of the challenge, as 70% of Sri Lanka's tea is produced by the country's 600,000 smallholder tea farmers. Organic farming is labor-intensive, and although tea can fetch better prices, far less tea is brought to market.
In 2010, Sri Lanka produced 330 million kilograms of tea from 222,000 hectares of bushes. Jayampathy Molligoda, current chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board, wrote that although tea now covers 253,000 hectares, about 160,000 tons of fertilizer are still needed annually; this usage continued in 2020, but with a reduction of 40 million kilograms of fertilizer.
He advocates for the nationwide use of high-tech production of organic fertilizers and for promoting regulations that would allow organic fertilizers to be imported. This move is part of a strategic plan aimed at providing Ceylon tea with zero pesticide residues.
In 2017, Rohan Pethiyagoda, the company's former chairman, said that to remain competitive, "you have to offer a product with distinctive characteristics that sets it apart from other competitors." We must also consider the demands of the consumer market. Western markets tend to want clean tea with fewer impurities and pesticides; they are also interested in the ethics of tea, such as fair wages and no child labor.
He said the fact that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world producing black tea that meets all these conditions is significant.
In 2019, Sri Lanka banned the use of glyphosate, an herbicide widely used in tea fields. The decision was driven by concerns about health problems among smallholder farmers due to insufficiently strict application standards. In rural areas, the number of suicides is disturbing. Over the 20 years since 1976, the death rate fell by 70%, but it remains the second most common method, causing 800-1,000 deaths each year. Academic research published in May 2020 concluded that the "regulation and replacement" of more toxic pesticides with carbosulfan and profenofos significantly reduced self-poisoning.
Larger regional plantation companies (RPCs) have experienced fewer incidents. In fact, Sri Lanka was recently nominated for a UN-supported award for the control of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs). The World Health Organization estimates that in 2016, exposure to hazardous chemicals caused 1.6 million deaths or cases of ill health.
These RPCs rely heavily on chemical fertilizers, which have become expensive due to rising oil prices and are in short supply for many pandemic-related reasons. Sri Lanka's proposal is landmark. Molligoda believes it requires a green revolution like that of the 1950s.
He wrote: "Long-term value creation for shareholders depends on the sustainable development of the estates and their communities." "If estate management does not take a long-term view, it is unlikely to remain profitable." He wrote that the bigger question is, "Are we leaving tea gardens to future generations in better condition than we inherited them?"
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
