KARACHI: UN, that aims to ensure the availability of tea around the world with the help of sustainable agriculture, observes 21st day of May, as Intl Tea Day.
The Day is also meant to provide a good quality of life to tea farmers, workers and traders. It is known that tea is the world’s most consumed drink, after water. It is believed that tea originated in northeast India, north Myanmar and southwest China, but the exact place where the plant first grew is not known. Tea has been with us for a long time.
There is evidence that tea was consumed in China 5,000 years ago. Tea production and processing constitutes a main source of livelihoods for millions of families in developing countries and is the main means of subsistence for millions of poor families, who live in a number of least developed countries. Thus tea-producing countries should integrate climate change challenges, both on the adaptation and mitigation front, into their national tea development strategies.
The tea industry is a main source of income and export revenues for some of the poorest countries and, as a labour-intensive sector, provides jobs, especially in remote and economically disadvantaged areas. UN says that tea can play a significant role in rural development, poverty reduction and food security in developing countries, being one of the most important cash crops. Tea consumption can bring health benefits and wellness due to the beverage’s anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and weight loss effects. It also has cultural significance in many societies.
Interestingly, tea production and processing contributes to the reduction of extreme poverty, the fight against hunger, the empowerment of women and the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. There is an urgent need to raise public awareness of the importance of tea for rural development and sustainable livelihoods and to improve the tea value chain to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Tea can only be produced in narrowly defined agro-ecological conditions and, hence, in a very limited number of countries, many of which will be heavily impacted by climate change.
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