Environmental Networking Platform for Children and Youth by SAMSUNG E&A
Stay connected with Eco-generation :
| Share 
| 
- Home >
- Our Actions >
- Ambassador report
11
Comments
Greening the Cup of TEA |
|---|
|
Everybody loves to have a cup of tea, whether in cultural ceremonies or as a remedy to keep warm and refresh oneself after a long day. Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world after water. Kenya is the third largest producer of tea in the world after India and China. Tea was introduced in the late 18th century by the British settlers in the high attitude parts of the country where it was able to pick on so well due to good and reliable rainfall. To date the industry provides job and livelihoods for close to 4 million people therefore a key factor in Kenya economic growth. Kenyan tea is also famous due to the fact that most of the tea leaves is handpicked selectively fresh from the farm. This process ensures the best quality tea leaves is maintained before being processed. However there has been an ugly history associated with tea production in the country as a result of unsustainable agricultural practices such as overusing pest sides in the farms, soil erosion, deforestation and other social factors .Further to that the process by which tea is dried and processed requires a lot of energy. It is estimated that it takes 8kWh of energy to process one kilogram of finished tea, compared with only 6.3 kWh for the same amount of processed steel (UNEP) .In order to meet the world?s demand for tea, huge expanses of farmland and forests are converted to growing only tea (Ecologist 2011) thus interfering with biodiversity and ecosystem. Kenya is already experiencing changes in the weather patterns which have led to decline in quantity and quality of tea produced. The good news is that there has been an increase in extension programs to promote environmental conservation in tea growing parts of Kenya. All stakeholders including small-scale tea farmers are being trained on good agricultural practices as a tool for fostering sustainable tea production in Kenya by the government and other various stakeholder groups such as Fairtrade African and SCC-Vi Agroforestry ADAPTea Project. Adoption of better agricultural practices such as organic farming, agro forestry offers an opportunity for farmers to increase farm productivity, improve quality and diversify their incomes .There is also biodiversity conservation and reduced soil loss. In many parts of Kenya, power to run the machine for drying and processing tea is not only expensive but also unreliable, as a result many factories switch to diesel generators to meet their needs. UNEP and Government of Kenya through 'Greening The Tea Industry project' has supported tea producers to adapt to climate change through integrating innovative low cost renewable energy thus improving productivity. Tea estates high altitude locations –areas characterized with high rainfall and all season river flows make them ideal sites for hydro power projects. Eco-friendly brickets and energy cooking stoves are also being promoted to mitigate climate change and reduce poverty in most parts of the country.
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
Previous : Agroforestry for Sustainable A...
11 Comments
Thank you for sharing, Samuel!
Posted 30-11-2014 13:53
Thank you ecopals for the wonderful comments :-) ,@Arushi yes yes !@Alina and Abhilash Thanks @Achmad yes industries have a big role to play towards environmental conservation @Wen very true @Swasamon Id love to learn more from you
Posted 04-10-2014 22:47
After water, tea is the most popularnon-alcoholic beverage in the world.
Climate change, water scarcity, competition for land and rapidly-changing consumer markets are just some of the challenges facing the tea industry in the years ahead.
Kudos to UNEP & Kenya gov.
Thank you for sharing, Samuel :)
Posted 29-09-2014 00:22
Since Tea is a big industry in Kenya it is very responsible step the the Govt. to adopt green methods for augmenting its production. It shows the commitment & integrity of the authorities.
I'm excited by this report. Hope other countries also follw suit.
Thanks for reporting Samuel
Posted 28-09-2014 19:37
Great report dear friend ,,, I really dont have any idea about Tea Industry , through this report I discover that there us also a great work that UNEP and Kenya Government doing by "Greening The Tea Industry" project
Posted 28-09-2014 10:32
Hey Samuel!
That was indeed an amazing information.
Additionally, the government authorities have take the right steps to start this revolution "Greening The Tea Industry" project which is definitely a welcome step. Taken as an example, countries can take help from the planning and implementation for their benefit too.
And, with pride I can state that my home state of Assam in India and also across the globe is considered to be one of the most largest tea-production region.
I was planning to write an article about Tea. Hopefully, I'd be able to post it very soon!
Stay tuned!
Thanks and cheers!
Posted 28-09-2014 02:48
I've heard about tea industry causing soil problems before. In Thailand, we use the crops rotation to make the soil better. Some crops ruin soil and some like beans, give good nutrients to soil. So, we switch it every years.
Posted 28-09-2014 00:28
Glad to hear that Kenya is currently having this Greening the tea Industry Project. I myself actually don't know that tea industry actually caused soil erosion, overuse of pesticide.
Some place in my country also famous with tea planting, maybe I should check out whether this problem exist in my country or not.
Thanks for sharing :)
Posted 27-09-2014 20:01
Glad to know that the concerned authorities have implemented 'Greening The Tea Industry project' .Hope it will be sucessful in actually greening the tea industry and achieve sustainability so that land wont suffer from adverse impacts and people will be able to earn their living. Thanks for sharing samuel. :)
Posted 27-09-2014 19:14
Should industries in Kenya implement green concept? Will it use top-down or bottom-up approach for greening tea plantation?
Posted 27-09-2014 17:52
Caption of your report is very good , generates anxiety to go through it .
Statistics are so alarming -8KWH energy needed for 1 kg tea. Definitely , sustainability needs to be thought and implemented at every step of tea production and processing. Glad to know that Kenyan authorities have already increased the momentum of environment conservation and greening the tea industry. Thanks for sharing , Samuel.
Posted 27-09-2014 15:37