Subrat Kumar Pati 

Dibrugarh (Assam): When a media delegation from Bhubaneswar recently visited tea gardens, production factories, research facilities and the Tea Board of India in Assam, it encountered a story that could have significant relevance for Odisha—not because Odisha can replicate Assam overnight, but because the state already has a small but important chapter in tea cultivation of its own.

That chapter is Taramakant in Banspal block of Keonjhar district.

Established in 1982 under Orissa Tea Plantations Ltd. (OTPL), the Taramakant tea estate was once a successful plantation spread over hundreds of hectares. At its peak, it provided direct and indirect employment to nearly 1,000 people, including local communities. The estate's produce was sold in domestic markets and reportedly exported to several countries.

For the tribal population living in and around Banspal, tea was more than an agricultural experiment. It became a source of regular livelihood in a region where employment opportunities were limited. The closure of the estate therefore had an impact well beyond the plantation itself.

Taramakant eventually became defunct in the early 2000s, and the plantation remained closed for more than two decades. Recent reports, however, indicate renewed efforts towards its revival. A detailed project report prepared by the Directorate of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management has proposed restoration of the estate. Reports also note that a substantial portion of the old tea bushes still survives. 

The geographical features of Taramakant make the question of tea cultivation in Odisha particularly interesting. The area is located at an elevation of approximately 1,800–2,200 feet, has natural water sources and receives around 900–1,050 mm of annual rainfall.

However, rainfall is an important consideration. Tea generally requires adequate and well-distributed moisture, and established tea-growing guidance notes that areas receiving less than about 1,150–1,200 mm rainfall generally require irrigation for commercial cultivation. This suggests that any expansion of tea cultivation in Odisha would need location-specific scientific assessment and, in suitable areas, assured water management.

Could Taramakant become the beginning of something bigger?

The question becomes particularly relevant after seeing the scale at which Assam has developed its tea economy.
Assam recently commemorated 200 years of its tea history, and tea has become deeply integrated into the state's economy and rural livelihood system. The Assam government's economic data shows tea production of about 635.37 million kg in 2025, with more than 350 tea gardens/grower units and an estimated 358,000 hectares under tea, including small growers. 

The rise of small tea growers is particularly relevant for Odisha. Assam's Directorate of Tea describes small tea growing as an emerging sector, with farmers taking up tea cultivation on holdings of just a few acres and receiving technical support from institutions including Assam Agricultural University and the Tocklai Tea Research Station.

The Assam government has also created institutional mechanisms for supporting small growers, including training, common infrastructure, assistance for inputs and support for small tea-grower cooperatives and processing facilities.

During the interaction with this journalist, Anant Dutta, Advisor to the Upper Assam Tea Research Association, pointed out that around one lakh small tea growers in Assam are registered, apart from the large growers and established tea estates.

The experience demonstrates that tea need not remain exclusively an estate-based activity. Small farmers can also become part of the value chain when they have access to planting material, scientific advice, processing facilities and markets.

George Samuel, Assistant Director, Tea Board of India, told that Assam exported around 280 million kg of tea in financial year 2024-25, underlining the scale of the state's participation in the international tea trade.

Odisha already has favourable pockets

The possibility of tea cultivation in Odisha is not entirely new. A Rajya Sabha response recorded that the Tea Board and Tea Research Association had surveyed parts of Rayagada, Kalahandi and Keonjhar and found the areas suitable for tea cultivation, subject to artificial irrigation. 

Odisha's Eastern Ghats and highland regions also present interesting agro-climatic possibilities. The OUAT regional research station at Keonjhar describes the North Central Plateau zone, covering Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj, as a hot and sub-humid region with predominantly acidic red and red-yellow soils. Meanwhile, the Eastern Ghats of Koraput have highland areas, acidic red soils and substantial rainfall, characteristics that warrant scientific examination for suitable plantation crops. 

This does not mean every part of Odisha can grow commercially viable tea. Rather, it points towards the need for scientific mapping of suitable micro-climates, soil, elevation, water availability and varieties before expanding the crop.

Assam offers Odisha an opportunity to learn

Interestingly, experts and scientists associated with Assam's tea sector have expressed willingness to share their experience with Odisha if the state government approaches them.

Such collaboration could potentially cover areas such as selection of suitable tea varieties, nursery development, pruning and plucking practices, pest and disease management, processing, quality improvement, small-grower models and marketing.

For Odisha, the immediate opportunity may therefore not be to create another Assam. It could be to revive Taramakant, scientifically assess other suitable pockets and build a locally appropriate tea model around tribal livelihoods.

Taramakant's past provides evidence that tea can provide regular employment in a tribal region of Odisha. Assam's present provides evidence of how a tea economy can grow from large estates to thousands of small growers, supported by research, processing, institutions and markets.

The next chapter could depend on whether Odisha connects these two experiences.

From Taramakant to a wider tea economy, the question for Odisha may no longer be whether tea can grow here, but whether the state is ready to explore its potential scientifically and build the ecosystem needed to make it sustainable.

**Pati is an Odisha-based freelance multimedia journalist.