After The Rana Dynasty
During the 1950s, there was a shift in the political scenario of Nepal. A new constitution was written to develop a democratic system. Despite failure in successful democratization, Nepal’s economy at least opened up to the rest of the world. As a result, the stagnant tea industry witnessed an inflow of public and private investment. The first private tea plantation was set up in 1959, in the terai region under the name Bhudhakaran Tea Estate.
In 1996, the Nepal Tea Development Corporation (NTDC) was set up to aid the development of the tea industry. Originally tea leaves produced in Nepal were sold to factories in Darjeeling, as the Darjeeling tea bushes had become old, leading to the deterioration of the processed tea. The Nepalese tea leaves were therefore a valuable input for the factories in and around Darjeeling. Finally in 1978, the first factory in Nepal was set up in Ilam for the processing of tea leaves and a few years later another factory was set up in Soktim, Jhapa district. From 1978 to the 1990s, various efforts were made by the Nepal Tea Development Corporation with the Overseas Development Administration (ODA), to encourage the participation of small and marginal farmers in the growth and production of tea as a cash crop. As a result, today the small and marginal famers constitute the majority percentage share in the Nepal tea industry. Slowly, the stagnant Nepal tea industry was evolving into a fully commercialized industry, benefitting the country’s economic and socio-economic development. To further aid in the development of its tea industry, in 1982, His Majesty’s Government of Nepal under the reign of the then King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, declared five districts – Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Dhankuta and Terhathum as Tea Zones of Nepal.
From 1987 to 1993, some of today’s notable institutions were incorporated to further aid the Nepal Tea Development Corporation in the development of a century old stagnant tea industry, like – National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB), Nepal Tea Planters’ Association (NTPA) and Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers’ Association (HOTPA). In 1997, Nepal’s tea industry saw a major transformation towards privatization, with the privatization of the plantations and factories under the Nepal Tea Development Corporation (NTDC).
Since the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, an array of International Non-governmental organization (like – Winrock, SNV, GTZ etc.) have become involved with the Nepal tea industry stakeholders, as the tea industry in Nepal also played a significant role in the eradication of poverty, especially in the rural areas where the tea plantations were concentrated. By the 21st century the stagnant tea industry had transformed into a fully commercialized industry, yet it had not yet developed a strong brand in the global market, lacking efficiently integrated production and marketing systems.
Hence, in 2000 as per the provisions of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board Act of 1992, the Government of Nepal ratified the National Tea Policy. The National Tea Policy focussed on the following five main broad topics: -
- Production and processing
- Market and trade promotion
- Institutional arrangement
- Manpower development
- Development and promotion of auxiliary industries