Published Paper Details:

Charaideo district having maximum small tea growers which have immense potential from the point of providing both employment and generating revenue. It can be a lucrative profession and can play a vital role in improving the socio-economic condition of the economically backward district. The Small Tea growers are an important and integral part of the tea industry of Assam. But small tea growers have been confronted with multiple existential challenges The study was carried out to study the socio-economic profile of small tea growers in Charaideo district of Assam. The primary data were collected from 50 small tea growers (STG) drawn from 10 randomly selected villages of two randomly selected blocks of Charaodeo district of Assam. The above analysis showed that out of 50 respondents, majority of them (58.00 per cent) belonged to the middle age group (30-50 years), 22.00 per cent were in the old age group (50 years & above) and only 20.00 per cent were in the young age group (up to 30 years). 40.00 per cent of the sample STG had small size of households (up to 5 members). Huge proportion of sample STG were educated up to graduation level. Out of the total operational land holding 67.50 per cent of land was used for cultivation of tea, and only 32.50 per cent of land was used to produce other crops or kept fallow. Larger proportion of STG were dependent on tea cultivation for earning their livelihood. It may be observed from the table that major portion of the annual income was obtained from the tea cultivation followed by govt or private services. There may be a variation in annual income from the green leaves as there is always a possibility in the fluction in prices of green leaves. When the price of green leaf is high, the income is also high.