Tea Productivity Analysis and Its Determinants: Implications for Higher Production and Cost Savings with Different Farm Sizes

Abstract

Tea demand is increasing rapidly both in domestic as well as in international markets. The growing demand of tea requires an increase in its production in a sustainable way. Therefore, enhancing tea productivity of present tea farms is the most feasible solution due to land scarcity and unavailability of required climate conditions. The primary purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that influence tea productivity, and cost of production on the basis of different farm groups. A total of 138 tea growers were selected by using stratified sampling technique from the extensive tea cultivation area of Rize province, Turkey. Cobb-Douglas model of production was used to analyze the factors affecting the tea productivity. Despite of having considerable cost of production differences, the return among farm categories was not too different from each other. The small and medium farmers were using higher quantity of fertilizer and also had older tea orchards as compared to large farmers. The results of the statistical model depicted that farmers who accessed their land on the share basis have a positive effect on the tea productivity. Farm size and age of the tea orchards were found negatively associated with tea productivity. Labor hiring and participation of tea farmers in agriculture training programs were positively affecting the productivity of tea farms. Therefore, regular training programs with great focus on management practices and awareness about the side effects of extravagant use of chemical fertilizer to the ecosystem should be organized by government agencies.