FARMERS’ VOICE RADIO FOR SMALLHOLDER TEA FARMERS IN SRI LANKA  

​

Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces

 Sri Lanka

​

Partners:

Chrysalis

 

When: 

November 2024 to August 2026

 

Radio programme:

‘Tea Garden’ on Rangiri Radio and social media networks

 

Donor:

Twinings Sourced with Care Programme

 

Target audience:

Smallholder tea farmers supplying Twinings partner factories in Matara and Ratnapura Districts

Project Description ​

Sri Lanka’s 450,000 smallholder tea farmers are vital to the country's tea industry, which is a major contributor to the national economy. These farmers often face significant challenges related to income stability, market access, and sustainable farming practices, which are exacerbated by environmental issues, such as soil degradation and climate change. The situation is particularly complex for women smallholders, who make up a substantial portion of the workforce but have limited access to resources, training, and decision-making opportunities. This is compounded by traditional gender roles and societal norms that restrict their economic independence and mobility.

​

Smallholder tea farmers are mainly located in the low grown production regions of Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa in the south of the island. An estimated 85-90% are Sinhala-speaking. The two provinces have diverse poverty profiles influenced by their unique economic activities, geographic characteristics, and infrastructure levels. However, both provinces face significant challenges, including underemployment, limited access to essential services, and vulnerability to natural disasters, all of which contribute to their poverty levels.

​

The Tea Small Holder Development Authority (TSHDA) is responsible for extension services to smallholder farmers using knowledge and information provided by the Tea Research Institute (TRI). However, the organisation is hugely overstretched with one extension officer responsible for around 3,500 farmers. Training, field inspection and distribution of inputs is also offered by some tea factories to their outgrowers, but the reach and delivery of these services is inconsistent.

​

In 2024 following successful Farmers’ Voice Radio initiatives in Kenya and Nigeria, Twinings approached LYF about a similar partnership in Sri Lanka. Although radio ownership is widespread in rural Sri Lanka (studies on media use estimate that 70-80% of households have access to a radio), our initial research shows that listenership is less intentional and frequent than in Twinings’ African origins, with greater access to and reliance on smartphones for information and entertainment. As a result, LYF’s local implementing partner Chrysalis will work with Prathiba Media Network to record audio and visual content with a Programme Reference Group (PRG) of 12 smallholder tea farmers, which will be distributed as a weekly radio programme—named ‘Tea Garden’ by PRG members—on Sinhala station Ringiri Radio and as podcasts and reels via WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms commonly used by farmers.

​

In a workshop attended by PRG members as well as representatives of six Twinings tea supplier factories, TSHDA, TRI, Rainforest Alliance and other sector stakeholders, participants agreed the following overarching objectives for the radio programme:

​

1. To increase tea smallholders’ knowledge and adoption of good farming practices that will improve production capacity and quality.

2. To increase tea smallholders’ knowledge about climate change and its impacts and encourage them to change cultivation practices to increase adaptation and resilience.

3. To encourage tea smallholders to adopt a more entrepreneurial approach and develop their financial and business management skills and understanding of the tea market.

4. To challenge inequalities based on gender among tea smallholders and workers, and to promote greater participation of female smallholders in decision-making.​​​