Mechanisation of the Plantation Industry

What is the issue?

• The plantation sector (coffee, tea and rubber) is acclaimed for its rich heritage.
• However, the industry is at a crossroads in terms of financial sustainability, calling for mechanisation.

What are the feasible new techniques?

• India is 50-100 years behind Japan in terms of mechanisation.
• There is a need for changing the mindset towards mechanisation as being anti-yield and anti-quality.
• Precision in harvesting through mechanisation is an opportunity for increasing crops and reducing costs.
• With the help of a continuous withering system, assembly line concept in tea harvesting and manufacture can be achieved.
• Automation in fertiliser application has appreciable prospects in terms of optimisation of dosages and effectiveness.
• The potential of drones will lie in pest surveillance with simultaneous spot application.
• Breeding must undergo fundamental changes as incremental yield increases are no longer enough.
• A mechanised green leaf factory in case of tea, as in the Japanese model, is a good target to pursue.
• Use of digital technology in improving real time controls of process parameters will enhance quality and reduce cost.
• This can be used with specific reference to temperature, moisture and grade recovery.
• Convergence of mobile phones, bluetooth and sensors offers a wide range of control opportunities and can be a low-cost alternative.

What is the case with prices?

• Tea - Low price discovery (vis-a-vis end consumer price) is the single biggest threat to the tea industry.
• Successful marketers no longer need to be producers; in fact, it becomes a burden.
• So rationalisation of supply through quality upgradation by producing speciality products is the way to go.
• Speciality products by virtue of higher end consumer price will automatically give a better primary farmgate price.
• Therefore, grade and product differentiation is the key as certain higher grades produced in small quantities, have high demand and offer high value.
• Coffee - In coffee, separation of ripe and semi ripe berries offers quality improvement avenues.
• This is coupled with mucilage (a layer surrounding the coffee seeds with a sticky, sugary substance) removal process.

What is the way ahead?

• Sustainability framework must be used as a consumer connect.
• The tenets of this framework include

1. good agricultural practices
2. biodiversity management
3. employee welfare
4. safety at workplace
5. product safety
6. livelihood of communities

• The plantation industry must learn to run the business with fewer people as shortage of manpower is an opportunity and not a threat.
• As, employee cost amounts to 65% of the cost of production (as against a maximum of 20% for other industries).
• So the need of the hour is to leverage the power of global technology and best practices.

Source: BusinessLine