.Regenerative Agriculture Strengthens Tea Supply Chains for a More Resilient Future
Healthy soil is the foundation of healthy tea production. Tea plants depend on fertile, well-managed soil to access essential nutrients, retain sufficient moisture and cope with environmental stresses. However, years of intensive cultivation, declining soil quality and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns are creating new challenges for tea growers across India.
Rising temperatures, irregular rainfall and growing pest pressure are affecting tea-growing regions and making it more difficult for farmers to maintain consistent yields. These pressures also highlight the need for farming approaches that can protect natural resources while keeping tea production productive and economically sustainable.
One approach gaining momentum across the tea industry is regenerative agriculture.
A New Approach to Tea Cultivation
Regenerative agriculture is focused on restoring and improving the natural health of agricultural ecosystems. Rather than concentrating solely on short-term production, regenerative farming seeks to strengthen soil health, increase biodiversity, improve water management and build resilience against climate-related risks.
For tea growers, these principles can provide practical ways to maintain productive farms while reducing pressure on natural resources.
Since 2024, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), in collaboration with the trustea Sustainable Tea Foundation, has been implementing a large-scale regenerative agriculture programme across India’s tea supply chain.
The initiative currently covers approximately 43,000 hectares of tea-growing land. Its broader objective is to create healthier soils, strengthen farm resilience and help build a more sustainable tea supply chain capable of responding to changing environmental conditions.
Supporting Small Tea Growers
A major development in the programme came in 2025, when regenerative agriculture practices were expanded to small tea growers through TeaNext, an HUL-supported initiative launched in Assam.
The inclusion of small growers is particularly significant because they account for more than half of India’s tea production. Their farms therefore play an important role in the overall strength and resilience of the country’s tea industry.
Through demonstration hubs, training programmes and practical learning opportunities, small tea growers can observe regenerative farming techniques directly and better understand how these approaches can be integrated into their own operations.
Rather than relying only on theoretical guidance, the programme provides farmers with opportunities to see how practices such as composting, mulching, nutrient management and shade-tree planting can be implemented in real tea-growing environments.
This practical approach is intended to help growers connect environmental improvements with the economic realities of farming.
Using Science to Understand Soil Health
Effective regeneration begins with understanding the condition of the land.
As part of the programme, more than 3,500 soil samples have been analysed across tea-growing regions. The assessments provide information about soil conditions and help identify opportunities for improving fertility, nutrient availability and overall soil performance.
The programme is also using trustea’s Emission Calculator, or TEC, to assess and map the carbon footprint associated with tea production.
Combining soil assessments with emissions data gives farmers and programme partners a clearer picture of where improvements can have the greatest impact. This information can support better input management, improve resource efficiency and help identify opportunities to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
The use of data is particularly important as tea growers face increasingly complex environmental conditions. Understanding the starting point allows regenerative practices to be better targeted rather than applying the same approach across every farm.
Turning Regenerative Principles Into Farm-Level Action
The programme focuses on practical interventions that can be adopted across tea-growing areas. These measures are designed to improve soil conditions while maintaining farm productivity.
Key practices include:
- Composting: Adding organic matter to the soil can support soil structure, fertility and biological activity.
- Mulching: Covering soil helps conserve moisture and provides protection against erosion and excessive heat.
- Green manuring: Growing and incorporating suitable plants into the soil can help return nutrients and organic matter naturally.
- Shade-tree management: Maintaining appropriate shade-tree cover can create favourable conditions for tea while supporting biodiversity.
- Improved nutrient management: More efficient use of nutrients can help reduce unnecessary dependence on chemical fertilisers and improve input efficiency.
Together, these interventions form a broader strategy for strengthening the natural systems that support tea cultivation.
Expanding Tree Cover and Biodiversity
Shade trees are an important component of the regenerative agriculture programme. To date, more than 300,000 shade trees have been planted across participating tea-growing areas.
These trees can contribute to healthier tea-growing landscapes in several ways. They provide shade for tea plants, support biodiversity and contribute to carbon capture. Tree cover can also help create a more favourable microclimate within tea plantations, an increasingly important consideration as temperatures rise.
The planting programme demonstrates how regenerative agriculture can extend beyond the immediate tea plant and consider the wider ecosystem in which tea production takes place.
Scaling Up On-Farm Composting
Composting is another major element of the initiative. More than 65,000 tonnes of compost have been produced on participating farms, helping return organic matter to the soil.
The programme uses vermicomposting as well as Novcom technology to support faster and more cost-effective compost production at scale.
According to the programme, Novcom technology can produce compost in approximately three weeks, compared with around three months for vermicomposting or traditional heap composting. The technology also does not require dedicated infrastructure and uses approximately one-third of the manpower and cost associated with vermicomposting.
Another advantage is that compost can be produced close to where it is needed. This can help reduce logistical challenges and make it easier for farmers to incorporate organic matter into their soil-management practices.
The scale of the composting effort is expected to increase significantly. By the end of 2026, compost production under the programme is projected to reach approximately 120,000 tonnes.
Building a More Resilient Tea Supply Chain
Regenerative agriculture is increasingly being viewed as more than an environmental initiative. For the tea industry, improving soil health can also contribute to the long-term resilience of farming communities and supply chains.
Healthier soils can support water retention and nutrient availability, while greater biodiversity and improved shade management can help tea-growing systems respond to environmental stress. Better input management can also potentially improve resource efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs.
For small tea growers in particular, these improvements could become increasingly important as climate variability creates additional pressure on farm productivity.
The partnership between HUL and the trustea Sustainable Tea Foundation illustrates how regenerative practices can be introduced at significant scale while bringing farmers into the transition through training, demonstrations and data-driven interventions.
With approximately 43,000 hectares already covered, more than 3,500 soil samples analysed, over 300,000 shade trees planted and more than 65,000 tonnes of compost produced, the programme is building a foundation for further expansion.
The expected increase in compost production to 120,000 tonnes by the end of 2026 signals the next stage of that effort.
As India’s tea sector continues to face climate, soil and productivity challenges, regenerative agriculture offers a pathway toward a more resilient production model. By investing in soil health, biodiversity, efficient nutrient management and practical farmer education, the industry can work toward protecting the natural resources that underpin tea production.
Ultimately, strengthening the soil may also mean strengthening the entire tea supply chain—from the farms where tea is grown to the consumers who depend on a reliable supply of the beverage.
Source Link:https://www.hul.co.in/
