STiR coffee and tea magazine

22 STiR coffee and tea | 2024 Issue 6 (December / January 2025) business multinational Olam Group. "I was working on different models with small coffee farmers in Peru. We could create a lot of impact. So, I wanted to try those models in Nilgiris," says Harish. He returned in 2021 and started Croft Beverages. Harish recalls watching tea farmers struggle, with 2001 being a particularly bad year when green leaf price fell from Rs 15-16 to Rs 4-5 per kilo. "There was a big protest and many farmers were arrested. My relative was among them," he says. Three years ago, Harish began to seek ways to pay better prices for green leaf. But he saw that several factories had tried this but it had not been sus- tainable. Asking for better leaf was not new, he says. He felt for farmers to earn better prices, they needed more knowledge, and innovation. Harish chose a farmer-owned factory model because few farmers are in- volved in tea production and to include them would retain a greater share of the value with them. Landholdings here are small, about 1.5 to 2 acres per farmer. The plan is to bring 20-25 farmers as one cluster with a mini factory with an estimated capacity of 25-30 tonnes a year. It calls for an investment of Rs 5 to 6 million ($60-70,000). For the first factory, funds were raised as debt through government schemes. In the long term, Harish envisions a debt-plus- equity model to reduce the capital burden on farmers. Earthly Delight is registered as a Farmer Producer Company with 21 farmers. Directors are appointed from the group and serve as leaders, pro- gressive farmers who can influence others for the better. A production man- ager has been employed from Darjeeling, as they are keen to produce good quality orthodox tea. The ideal scenario that Harish envisions in the short term is 10-15 factories in different locations across the hills, servicing farmers in the vicinity and allowing them to grow and produce tea while keeping more earnings at the source. As in Kumaon, here too the farmers have been skeptical of the model. "Some are on the fence and we need to show confidence in this model." This translates to hard profits to be made at the end of the year. Harish calls farmer engagement the biggest challenge. "This is not a charity. They have to understand that this is their factory." But factory ownership is a very new idea. His company Croft Beverages serves as the catalyst, working with farmers to train them, arrange credit as needed, and support them with marketing. The auction will be their main sales channel, with 80-90% of the production sold this way. It puts the onus on producers to build their reputation to go up the "batting order" in time. Facing the Generational Challenge If this works, it will be the reason for youth to remain in the hills and pursue farming. "I strongly believe that a lot of the younger generation want to be here. But farming needs to provide adequate in- come," says Harish. The trend has been for youth to leave the area. Harish, for instance, pursued a degree in mechanical engineering, followed by an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management Ban- galore, and worked outside the region for several years. The CEO of Earthly Delights, Arun Raja, left the hills to study as well, graduating in technol- ogy and working in Chennai for some years before returning home. The older generation is not convinced about a future in tea farming. Showing them that it will work, and educating farmers on farm and pro- duction economics, are Harish's priorities. "They look at the weekly numbers; if they have enough for the week, they are happy. They don't under- stand business and economics." Harish has set up a model farm which is his training ground in production, tea processing and also finance. That farmers today are beginning to speak to him about tea production gives him the confidence to stay the course. In both these instances, a leader has emerged from within the community. Both Harish and Desmond agree that being from the community brought an acceptance that may or may not have come otherwise. "Some of the farmers don't un- derstand the model fully but still accept it because I am a local," says Harish. In Kumaon, it was Desmond who pointed out that the height of the withering trough needed to suit the height of the local women who would work with it. "Without Desmond's leadership, none of this would work at all," says Raj. Both are here for the long haul, willing to hold the farmers' hands until the factories are running as intended, bringing technical skills, market insights, and the missing piece—business intelligence. Croft Beverages uses its tea farm to train other growers in the Nilgiris on innovative methods and new harvesting techniques. Photo courtesy Croft Beverages Few farmers are involved in tea production. The new 100% farmer-owned Earthly Delight Micro Factory incentivizes tea farmers to produce higher-quality green leaves. Photo courtesy Croft Beverages

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