Free tea plants from next year

By Saman Indrajith

Anyone who wished to grow tea from next year would be given tea plants free of charge, Minister of Plantations Ramesh Pathirana said yesterday at a media briefing.

It took about four years for the tea plant to produce yield, he said, adding that therefore most people were not interested in planting tea. But, there were new planting techniques that reduced the time tea plants took to produce leaves for plucking, the minister said.

“We could make a revolutionary change in the tea industry within the next three years by adopting new technologies and techniques,” Minister Pathirana said.

Financial assistance too would be provided for land preparation from next year, he said.

“We must now turn to new methods and focus on tea plucking machines. Many countries have adopted new technologies and made great advances,” he said.