Five meteorological stations were inaugurated in the Nilgiris for the benefit of small tea growers

The Tea Board of India has selected two village FPOs, Thummanatti and Kadakodu, in the Nilgiris for implementing the technology intervention scheme. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

In the villages of Thummanatti and Kadakodu in the Nilgiris, Tea Board India has set up five weather stations to help small tea growers access information on local weather conditions to help them manage tea yields, quality as well as diseases and pests.

This initiative is part of the implementation of a technology intervention scheme by Tea Board India, which has selected two Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) for the project.

“The board initiative was jointly implemented by Tea Board India, Agri Foretell and Havukal Tea Factory during March 2026,” said a press release from the Tea Board.

A review meeting on the initiative was recently held at Thummanatti village under the leadership of C. Murugan, Vice-Chairman, Tea Board India. During the meeting, the beneficiaries of the project, including members of Mupathu Mukkodi Devathi Devargal Small Tea Growers Association and Hari Om Small Tea Growers Association, shared their experiences and practical difficulties they faced in implementing the project. Mr. Murugan also visited an automatic tea weather station set up in one of the small tea growers’ fields, the press release added.

Mr. Murugan said that small tea growers need not remain only suppliers of green tea leaves and encouraged the farmers to expand the value chain and set up a mini tea factory and produce their own tea. He assured them that the growers will be given Tea Board of India ‘Tea Mark’ certification and the tea can be sold directly through the authorized online trading platform of Tea Board, teamarketplace.in.

The review session was attended by Bharani Kumaar, Executive Director, Tea Board India, South Zonal Office, Coonoor; S. Soundararajan, Director (Tea Development), Tea Board India, Kolkata, as well as other officials of the Board, representatives of Havukal Tea Factory, Agri Foretell Group and small tea growers benefiting from the scheme.

Published – 02 Sep 2026 18:07 IST