Tea Board to set up 70 new nurseries

The Sri Lanka Tea Board is investing in 70 new tea nurseries to support an accelerated tea bush replanting campaign, aiming to raise annual tea production to 400 million kilograms by 2030.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, SLTB Tea Commissioner Mahesh Jayawardena stated that the board is prioritizing the acceleration of tea bush replanting efforts to enhance national output.

He explained that while replanting has been an ongoing process supported by fertilizer subsidies since the 1980s, the board has now expanded the program, placing special emphasis on abandoned tea plantations.

Jayawardena noted that tea estates have been abandoned due to various factors, including volatile weather, labor shortages, soil degradation, and aging tea bushes. The SLTB is currently working to identify which abandoned estates can be replanted.

However, he acknowledged that replanting may not be feasible on certain lands, in which case those areas could be redirected toward alternative agricultural uses.

To support this accelerated replanting drive, the SLTB is funding 70 new tea nurseries.

The Tea Small Holdings Development Authority has also launched a similar investment initiative, though Jayawardena mentioned he did not have specific details regarding their project.

Underscoring the necessity of the effort, Jayawardena stated that Sri Lanka's annual tea output had previously dropped from about 340 million kilograms to roughly 250 million kilograms.

He added that production is currently recovering due to the reapplication of fertilizer, supported by ongoing subsidies.

In addition to replanting—which he identified as the primary driver for reaching the production target—the SLTB has introduced further measures, including subsidies for irrigation, mechanization, and tea infilling, with a tentative goal of reaching 400 million kilograms annually by 2030.