Factors Affecting Land Productivity of Proprietary Tea Estates in Badulla District
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Date
2021
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Publisher
Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
The tea industry of Sri Lanka has made a significant contribution to the country's socio-economic
status since its‟ history. The sustainability of the tea industry in Sri Lanka is at a critical juncture
since it faces many challenges like the rising cost of production, declining productivity, shortage of
labor, and climate changes. Proprietary Tea Estates are considered middle-level tea estates that may
have a range of tea land extent between 10 to 50 acres (4 to 20 ha). The total land extent of
proprietary holdings accounts for 14710 ha of land which is represented 6.6% of the total tea land
extent of Sri Lanka. The main objective of this study was to identify the factors that affect the land
productivity of proprietary tea estates in the Badulla district and to propose strategies to optimize the
land productivity for its long-term sustainability. A conceptual framework and research methodology
were developed according to the information gathered from focus group discussions held with key
experts attached to public institutions and few proprietary holdings in the Badulla District. A cross-
sectional survey using a pretested structured questionnaire was held for the collection of primary
data. The stratified purposive sampling method was performed to select 33 proprietary tea estates in
four tea inspector's ranges in the Badulla District. Secondary data were gathered. Descriptive
statistics were used to analyze the socio-economic factors of the estates. Multiple linear regression
analysis was used to analyze the effect of independent variables on land productivity. 87.9% of the
variance of land productivity was explained by the independent variables (P = 0.000, n = 33). The
findings of this study concluded that although the proprietary tea estate owners were experienced
with sound knowledge on recommended agricultural practices, the major constraints for improving
land productivity of the estates are inadequate opportunities to access to formal extension services in
order to get technical, input, and financial assistance on required time. Thus, this study would be
useful for relevant authorities to implement strategies to optimize the land productivity of proprietary
tea estates in the Badulla District.
Keywords: Tea Industry, Proprietary Tea Estates, Land Productivity, Regression Analysis
Description
Keywords
Agriculture, Crop Production, Export Agriculture, Tea, Tea Industry