For the first time in the world, Nepali orthodox tea producers have endorsed the Code of Conduct (CoC) with a view to safeguard the interest of people and nature involved in the tea production sector.

A national meeting of tea stakeholders and development partners in Lalitpur on August 2 adopted the Nepal Tea CoC, which stands on four pillars comprising 1) Respect for nature, 2) Respect for people, 3) Transparency in production systems and 4) Commitment to quality, said a statement issued by the Tea Development Alliance on Friday.

“The CoC addressed the major concern of the smallholder farmers whereby the processors have to ensure that the farmers get equal or above average benefits from the income generated by higher value generated as a result of the CoC implementation,” said Deepak Prakash Baskota, chairperson of the Alliance.

“Implementation of the Code of Conduct, which is also a branding exercise, is expected to create higher demand and fetch better prices in the international marketplace,” he added.

The representatives of the Alliance have also signed on the Memorandum of Understanding so as to encourage a voluntary association of government organisations, private sector, non-government organisations and donors to work together to achieve the overall goal of strengthening orthodox tea sector in Nepal. It will also help increase income and alleviate poverty of the people working in the tea growing areas of eastern Nepal, said Baskota.

The Tea Development Alliance comprises Agro Enterprise Center of the FNCCI, Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers’ Association, Himalayan Tea Producers’ Cooperative, Nepal Tea Producers’ Association, Himalayan Tea Producers’ Cooperative, Nepal Tea and Coffee Development Board, SNV Nepal, GTZ/PSP and Winrock International/USAID.

The Alliance said it is making persistent efforts to expand market for Nepali orthodox tea especially in the European market.