Tea and empathy

Nepal’s tea industry is under pressure due to the unavailability of fertilisers.

Chemical fertiliser shortages have been a constant source of worry for Nepali farmers. Of late, the scarcity has profoundly affected the tea industry. Nepal’s Rs5 billion tea industry , one of the country’s key foreign exchange earners, is currently under pressure due to the unavailability of chemical fertilisers. The issue of fertiliser shortage isn’t new to Nepali farmers, but this year a global shortage of the plant nutrients and the dawdling steps taken by the authorities to address the need has precipitated a crisis in a sector that has in the past managed to make a mark on the world stage.