For years and generations tea has been a trusted crop both for growers and the nation considering foreign earnings the crop brings into the Malawi economy. However, over the years; effects of climate change coupled with pests have had adverse implications on the crop. However, it would appear answers are emerging to these bottles through various tools of biotechnology as being explored by Tamanda MATEBULE.
For an agro-based economy that is Malawi; for years now, tobacco, sugar and tea have been the big three largest export earners.
Whilst these crops have rated highly as chief foreign exchange earners for the country; the effects of climate change have impacted adversely on the tea industry.
Effectively; the tea ecosystem comprised of: large-scale producers, smaller smallholder farmers and researchers has gone into search for sustainable means and ways of restoring the industrys glorious past.
Players in this ecosystem all agree that climate change continues to be a major driving factor contributing to low tea production in recent years manifested by such other challenges like increased infestation of pests and diseases.
These put together; have stagnated tea production within 45 million kilograms; annual yield — a drop from the usual 50 million kilograms per year.
However, as at now, therere interventions being put in-place, with the local tea industry continuously exploring modern technologies and embracing biotechnology; in particular to improve production prospects in agriculture as evidenced with developments in cotton, maize and even banana industries.
On their part, for instance, at Tea Research Foundation of Central Africa in Malawi/Mozambiques boarder district of Mulanje research is underway to establish and introduce resilient tea varieties.
Nicolas Mphangwe, chief research scientist with the tea research foundation says researchers are banking their hope on sustainable climate-smart technologies that would counter increased infestation of pests and diseases.
“We are trying to give our farmers options and practices that can make tea productivity high under these circumstances in the face of challenges like increased infestation of pests and diseases,” he said.
To achieve this aspiration … the Tea Research Foundation of Central Africa is building a biotech lab and training technicians to serve for building and testing biotech-tools for; for instance, fast yielding varieties.
Lawrence Kwalimba a biotechnology scholar and researcher at the tea research foundation says, at the moment, biotechnology in Malawi’s tea industry primarily involves plant breeding programs that focus on improving tea varieties.
This; he says targets enhancing better yield, drought tolerance, and other desirable traits like pests and disease resistance.
“Here we conduct research on various aspects of tea cultivation, including genetic enhancement and nursery plant growth. Much of this is done accompanied in collaboration with smallholder farmers,” says Kwalimba.
He notes; however, biotechnology is bringing a lot glimmer of hope in the tea industry as trends are now changing. He points to biotech-cultivars that have been bred to stand drought, which could not initially withstand drought.
He observes: “We have for example here in our breeding program some cultivars like PC 105 and PC 108 which initially people said were drought tolerant but were severely damaged when we had drought in 2005.
“Their status changed when they were bred with biotech tools because they are now drought resistant. These are the benefits that come with agriculture biotechnology,” said Kwalimba.
Growers on the other end, are describing these technologies as the turning-point towards the restoration of Malawis tea industry.
Johnes Muhilima, chairperson for National Smallholder Tea Growers Association says farmers have no option but to continue adapting new technologies aimed at countering climate change.
“We are appreciative of the strides biotechnology is playing in the tea industry. For instance, we now have tea varieties which are early to yield from the traditional 15-25 years,” says Muhilima.
This is echoed by the umbrella body for Malawis tea industry — the Tea Association of Malawi as it also singles-out increased infestation of pests and diseases and erratic climatic patterns among key challenges to address.
Amos Suluma board member for the association has described these bottlenecks as a hindrance to teas market-profitability; leading to both, low production and a drop in profit-margins.
However, as an intervention, he asks researchers to invest in sustainable climate-smart technologies and also breeding resilient tea varieties with potential to withstand extreme weather conditions.
These, Suluma says, would enhance tea productivity and also improve profitability for growers by among others adopting sustainable climate-smart technologies, including introduction of resilient tea varieties.
Given the changing consumer preferences, he said, such tea varieties would also help in meeting specific attributes both for the local and global market.
In view of this, Muhilima, observes, small scale farmers were also being encouraged to adapt to new and emerging technologies to minimize the impact of climate change.
He says: “The performance of tea has in recent years not been very good because mostly in Malawi its rain-fed agriculture so in years where the rains are not doing well our production has been going down.
“This is because most of the traditional varieties are not drought resistant … in-turn tea production has dropped to within the ranges of 45 million kilograms in recent years from the usual 50 million kilograms.”
On their part, large scale producers like Makande Tea Estate Company see some hope ahead.
In the wake of the new and emerging technologies, Rajeev Rawat Singh General Manager for the tea company says whilst its too early to predict the outcome for the new trends, he is hoping for the better harvests.
Reports indicate tea accounts for 1.5 percent of Malawi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It also contributes significantly to national employment (11%) and foreign exchange earnings (8%) — according to a study published on ScienceDirect.com.