On Tuesday 16 June the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) and IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative hosted TEAM UP 2015 Pushing Boundaries. The event, now in its third year, has become a cornerstone of tea sustainability and is a key date in the tea industry’s calendar. TEAM UP 2015 welcomed 210 delegates and over 80 organisations including tea producers, buyers, tea boards and associations, retailers, exporters, certification programmes, funders, NGOs, development agencies, and a host of other organisations to discuss tea sustainability. We were also privileged to welcome The Honourable Dr Allan James Chiyembekeza – MP, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development of Malawi, the first serving government minister to address TEAM UP. The Honourable Dr Allan James Chiyembekeza – MP This meeting will provide us with an opportunity to share both the success and failure in the tea industry, discuss some of the challenges, inspire each other to increase the sector’s impact, and make sure that it continues to push the boundaries of sustainability. The Honourable Dr Allan James Chiyembekeza – MP Progress since 2014 Following introductions from Ian Midgley, Chairman, Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), and Joost Oorthuizen, Executive Director, IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative, ETP’s Executive Director, Sarah Roberts, was joined on stage by ETP and IDH staff from Africa and Asia to provide a round up of what has happened on the ground since TEAM UP 2014. The African panellists highlighted how farmer field school In China, ETP continues to support producers to improve programmes in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda health and safety, worker management systems, and are leading to improved farming practices and better meet international standards. In Sri Lanka, an innovative livelihoods for tea farmers. These programmes are approach to bring managers and workers together to also bringing about a wide range of additional benefits discuss and agree ways to improve working and living including improved nutrition, diversification of crops, conditions on estates continues to reap benefits, which greater understanding of issues such as HIV/Aids, and has led to the wider Asian team looking at how this model increased resilience to climate change. could be adapted for other Asian plantations. In Kenya, climate change adaptation work continues to be rolled out by extension officers and local leaders. One of the benefits this work has led to is the installation of 150,000 energy saving stoves across tea farming communities. Climate change mitigation projects are also helping processing factories to improve their energy management resulting in reduced CO2 emissions, fuel wood use, and costs, and can serve as a model for other factories. IDH highlighted how their regional teams were growing as they took on staff to support important new programmes such as the Malawi 2020 Tea Revitalisation Programme and their Initiative for Sustainable Landscapes (ISLA) in Kenya. The IDH staff have particular expertise in liaising with government, an increasingly important requirement in Thomas Makaya has invested in livestock following the many of ETP’s and IDH’s partnerships. climate change adaptation training The Asia team pointed out the challenges of agrochemical use and poorly organised smallholders in their regions and highlighted programmes that they are engaged in to tackle those challenges. The experience of smallholder improvement programmes in Indonesia and Africa provide a platform for similar activities in China and India. Raising standards, changing lives: the experience of India Our distinguished panellists, K S Srinivasan (Tata Global Beverages), Arun Singh (Goodricke Group Limited), and Richard Fairburn (IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative), provided the meeting with a fascinating overview of the main challenges facing the Indian tea industry and communities, and the programmes that are tackling them. Climate change, pesticide use management, mechanisation, and organisation of smallholders, all of which impact on quality, were the main challenges facing the industry mentioned by the speakers. The panel referenced the trustea programme, which aims to raise standards across the Indian industry supplying the domestic market. So far 67 million kg of tea has been verified as compliant with the trustea code. The trustea programme is increasing its support to the smallholder sector. As pointed out by the panel this is particularly important given the anticipated growth of the Indian smallholder segment. It’s predicted that by 2020, 50% of Indian tea production will come from smallholders, which currently are not covered by international certification programmes. Another positive development has been the agreement on the India-wide Plant Protection Code for the tea industry, which is accelerating improvements in agrochemical management. The panel also discussed the positive impact that Environmental issues, labour, migration and wages technology can make to the sector. Mobile phone issues, upward mobility for the workforce. Is technology that helps Indian tea farmers to manage mechanisation the answer? #TEAMUP15 agricultural inputs and control pests and diseases is Tom Delaney @tomdelotb Jun 16 currently being trialled and drone technology has the capability of supporting the industry on climate change adaptation. Transboundary land management is a challenge for sustainable landscapes e.g. deforestation in Anurada Chandran from UNICEF then took the floor and Bhutan affecting catchments in India #TeamUp15 provided an overview and update on the ETP-UNICEF Ellie Biggs @EllieMBiggs Jun 16 partnership to improve opportunities and reduce exploitation of young women in Assam tea communities, #climatechange main concern in #tea industry in which is supported and funded by IDH the Sustainable #India for CEO Arun Singh - drought led to pests Trade Initiative, Tesco, OTG, Tata Global Beverages, Taylors “never sprayed before in #Assam” #teamup15 of Harrogate and Typhoo. Continued on next page... Alexander Kasterine @alexkasterine Jun 16 Good to hear #climatechange acknowledged as a main challenge for tea sector in India at #teamup15 @EthicalTea @IDH_buzz UTZ Certified @UTZCertified Jun 16 What’s next in #tech4dev? Perhaps #drone use to assess impacts of #ClimateChange to support smallholders #TeamUp15 @EthicalTea @IDH_buzz CPF @ProducersFdn Jun 16 Raising standards, changing lives: the experience of India The three-year Assam programme is working with 350 communities linked to more than 100 tea estates, and will equip more than 25,000 girls with the knowledge and life skills that will help them secure a better future A ‘Tea Atlas’ mapping Assam tea communities and reduce their vulnerability to violence, abuse, and sounds like a great idea. Not just of use to the exploitation. It will also give more than 10,000 community Indian government #TeamUp15 members the knowledge and training to protect children dom @domdwight Jun 16 Camberwell, London from all forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation. #ChildRights being discussed at #TeamUp15. Since work started on the ground in India last October, How does tea impact children? #TeaSustainability UNICEF staff and partners have: @UNICEF @UNICEFKenya @KTDAFoundation • Supported more than 1,300 adolescent girls, through Jaki @Mathugz Jun 16 UNICEF organised Adolescent Girls Groups • Provided training on supporting and protecting adolescent girls to more than 600 front line workers The Village Child Protection Committee is the (including Mothers Groups, Welfare Officers, Tea first level of recognising childrens’ rights on a tea Garden Management) across 56 tea gardens estate. #TeaSustainabilty #TeamUp15 • Established 25 community based child protection ETP @EthicalTea Jun 16 committees with almost 400 members • Held a state-wide workshop to develop the capacity of front line child protection staff at government and NGO/Tea Management Association level with the aim of improving the way that front line officers deal and interact with children on child protection cases Roles, challenges, prospects for women in agriculture (part 1) Improving opportunities and reducing exploitation of women in tea production and in tea communities is a critical part of ETP’s and IDH’s work. The conference was privileged to welcome Professor Stephanie Barrientos, University of Manchester, an expert on gender and value chains from research in more than 20 countries. Stephanie provided us with an overview of the situation of women in agriculture and important guidance on approaches for empowering women and increasing gender equity in the tea sector. Professor Barrientos explained how promoting gender equity and empowering women leads to more financial success for companies, better quality of life for employees, and more investment in health and education in communities. She also highlighted how gender issues need to be focused on every stage of the supply chain (see diagram below), from production, where women are a large proportion of the agricultural workforce, to consumption, where women make 70-80% of purchase decisions and have more concern than men about the standard under which goods are produced - particularly labour standards. Given nearly 80% of consumer purchases are made by women, is there a #brand #proposition based on #gender #equity in #valuechains? #TeamUp15 Urvi @Urvi_Kelkar Jun 16 Stephanie Barrientos: Certification has a clear role to play on encouraging gender sensitive supply chains #TeamUp15 Rainforest Alliance @RnfrstAll_UK