by The Invisible Thu Oct 25, 2018 8:08 am
Bit old article but contains good techniques that our plantations can adapt.
Machines are the future on tea plantations
Technological evolution usually has an impact, both positive and negative. This is no different for the Kenyan tea sector.
It is true that tea harvesting machines are taking over jobs and exposing thousands of workers to the pangs of the twin scourges of unemployment and poverty.
On the other hand, mechanisation is, in the real sense, an evolution of cost-effective tea harvesting. However, the pros and cons of this technological advancement seem to have been blown out of proportion, resulting in a tug of war between the concerned parties.
Since mechanical harvesting of tea is still in its infancy in Kenya, most plantations adopting the technology are using simple hand-held harvesters. It is a difficult start and is expected to affect the quality of tea.
Leaf quality generally improves with better machines and proper adaptation. Provided quality is assured, machine picked leaves are just as acceptable as those that are manually harvested.
Specialised tea harvesters are receiving attention in the industry globally. Unlike what is available in our tea zones, there are better machines that place tea harvesting on another level altogether
One such machine is the T1000 Magic Carpet tea harvester, designed to cover as much as one hectare per hour while floating over the tea bushes with precision and producing a better quality harvest.
This type of harvester is cost-effective and more accurate than the fleets of hand-held shearing machines currently in use in Kenya. Tea picking is all about quality, therefore technology needs to be revamped to meet the desired tastes.
Harvesting using hand-held machines has limitations. The selectivity of the tender shoots is lost, resulting in coarser and mechanically injured leaves, which affects the biochemical aspects of the tea, hence affecting the eventual quality.
Poor technology is a deterrent to quality. Some hand-held shears do actually spoil the broth. Tea harvesting is not like cutting grass. The tender shoots comprising of two leaves and a bud are of the best quality. But the innovations in the mechanisation of tea plucking have surprises for many since there are machines that perfect the art.
The mechanical harvesting of tea is slowly but surely being adopted around the world. In Africa, some countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe are using the technology on some tea estates. Parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Japan have tea farms that rely on mechanical tea harvesters.
Technology in essence plays an important role in our lives. There is no way we can run away from it. That is the message our brothers in the tea sector need to digest. The mechanisation of tea harvesting is an inevitable transition.
But the harsh reality is that any milestone in technology has a price. When computers first came, many workers in industries were scared of losing their jobs. But computerisation has paved the way to increased production and profits.
The other side of the coin was the massive lay-offs of workers in production lines that are now served by computers. Development has gone a step further, with new technologies achieving unrivalled industrial activity with little human intervention.
And the results are the products we see in the markets and the ease of living in the modern world.
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