Agriculture and Environment: Tea

Introduction

Several ways have been identified to reduce significantly the environmental impacts of tea production.

Unilever (2003b) has, in fact, developed a set of better practice guidelines to help producers who want to sell to them to reduce their overall impacts.

In general, the better practices allow producers to encourage and increase biodiversity within their plantings. This is important because much of that biodiversity helps reduce the need for pesticides and other inputs.

Other important practices, however, are those that reduce soil erosion and degradation and actually build soil so as to reduce the need for fertilisers and other inputs.

In addition, farmers have found more efficient ways to utilise inputs (e.g., fertilisers, pesticides, energy, water, and some of the more toxic chemicals) so that they can get by using less of each.