Abstract:
Tea is the main income earner from export crops in the economy of Sri Lanka. Twenty
eight percent of the tea land belongs to smallholdings with 156,545 smallholders cultivating
61,371 ha or approximately one third of the area under tea. Compared to the estate sector the
smallholder sector has extended over the past decades. However, production level is very low
compared to the estate sector, because of a low rate of adoption of technologies. This study
is concerned with the constraints on the adoption of innovations in the smallholder tea sector
in Sri Lanka. Most of the information in the study is based on field survey data collected
using questionnaires in contrasting villages.
The objectives of this research have been: (1) to compare the existing extension
coverage by the relevant extension institutes to the smallholder and plantation tea sectors in
Sri Lanka; (2) to compare the rate of adoption of innovations in the smallholder sector and
the estate sector; and (3) to explore the constraints on adopting innovations in the smallholder
sector.
Field investigations were carried out in central and southern Sri Lanka. Data were
collected from smallholder tea farmers, estate superintendents and extension workers. The
findings reached in this study include the following points. In comparison to the estate sector,
extension coverage by the institution in the smallholder sector is inadequate. Tea Research
Institute services to smallholders are negligible. The rate of adoption of innovations in the
smallholder sector is far behind that of the estate sector. Major constraints in adopting
innovations in the smallholder sector are: lack of capital, lack of knowledge, lack of inputs
and problems of marketing. Those constraints are interrelated. There is evidence that the yield
can be increased substantially if the extension services are further improved. However,
extension alone cannot improve this sector. Extension needs support from other organizations
involved in this sector to develop it as a system.
