Taraba state is fortunate to be the only tea growing region in the whole of West Africa with a land area coverage of far less than 1500 hectares. Since the commencement of the establishment of the tea estate on the Mambilla plateau in the 1970s into the 1980s, there has been little or no effort made to expand the production of tea plantations on the Mambilla beyond the current 1200 hectares.


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As national revenues continue to dwindle, it is now time to begin to explore other sources of revenue generations and jobs creation. Being the only region in Nigeria that grows tea, Taraba state has not maximized the opportunity to increase production, break the Highland Tea Company monopoly and attract further investments into plantation establishments and tea processing. Having one tea company alone is not enough to generate the needed revenue and drive growth that will increase jobs.


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It is time that the Taraba state government takes a bold step to liberalise Tea production and processing. This will see to more investment and an increased competition that will further make the Highland Tea do better. It will also increase the revenue base of the state in terms of additional taxes to be collected, increase job opportunities and bring more developments to the rural areas.

According to the World Top Export website, total Tea import is $6.5 billion with Asia importing $2.3 billion worth, equivalent to 35% of the global tea import. Nigeria on the other hand imported $19.2 million (N58.7B at N305/$). This means that, despite the presence of the Mambilla tea, we are spending more money on tea import. If Taraba works hard to supply 10% of that amount, that will be a share of N5.87B.

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This can only be possible if the Taraba state government can begin to take steps to develop the Taraba Tea Development Policy to liberalise the sector, open it up for investment in both processing and cultivation. Secondly, there is a great need to develop Agricultural extension and promote the teaching of tea cultivation in the state agricultural institutions like the College of agriculture and the Faculty of agriculture of the Taraba State University. These will create the needed manpower for the sector’s growth and development.

As we await for the commencement of the operation of the Kashimbila hydro power distribution, it will be strategic for the state government to woo investors and assure them of a guaranteed source of power on one hand and the supply of Tea raw material on the other.

In a time like this when Central Bank of Nigeria is looking to reduce import dependency and promote local production, it offers the Taraba state government and opportunity to approach the CBN with a convincing proposal to set aside funds for investors willing to invest in the Tea sector.

Zanau Hassan Maikasuwa is an Agricultural consultant, he writes from Abuja.