The two-day 35th Tocklai Conference begins on Friday at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute, under Tea Research Association, at Cinnamara in eastern Assam’s Jorhat district.
More than 200 tea scientists, experts, technologists and planters from all over the country, as well as United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are expected to congregate at the conference.
Tea Research Association Director A K Barooah told media persons on Thursday that the theme of the conference is ‘Sustainable Tea: Challenges and the way forward’.
Barooah said that the conference will hold seven technical sessions along with a primary session. Increase in cost of production, impact of climate change on tea industry, emergence of new pests and diseases, scarcity of workers during peak time, will be the issues that will be discussed seeking solutions to overcome the problems, the Director stated.
TRA Chairman P K Bezboruah, who has been recently re-appointed as the Tea Board Chairman, said that the conference will provide an excellent platform for exchange of knowledge amongst tea scientists and other stakeholders of the industry to prepare a roadmap for effective sustainability solutions for the tea industry.