status report on samaliya tea estate

8/7/2019 STATUS REPORT ON SAMALIYA TEA ESTATE

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SUMMARY STATUS REPORT ON SAMALIYA TEA ESTATE

Status of Tea Plantation

Samaliya Tea Estate located at Mpugwe in Masaka district covers a total of 640 Acres

of land, of which 190 Acres are occupied by squatters. An estimated 200 Acres

constitute the main tea production area which though is mostly covered by bushes.

The bulk of the remaining 250 acres of productive area of this land is largely bush

land.

The tea estate soils are still highly fertile (with a high humus content) as they have

been able to support organic tea production for all these years ever since the tea estate

was opened up in 1952.Good soils are the very reason why the tea estate has been

producing good quality made teas without the use of any chemical fertilizers and in

spite of using old tea-processing machinery/equipment.

There is a sizeable (4-5 Ha.) eucalyptus forest plantation stand on the western bounds

of the tea estate.

Activities on-going and planned:

In-filling: - The tea estate management has however embarked on efforts to expand

the tea production acreage through in-filling of the empty gaps and spaces that were

created by neglect and extensive destruction by termites. A few nursery beds have also

been established to provide a steady and continuous source of supply for

seedlings/seed lets. Nursery materials and inputs are budgeted to cost over UShs.

5,000,000.

Grass trimming: - The tea estate is putting in a lot of effort in an attempt to trim the

grass and reduce on the bush land that occupies vast portions of the tea estate.

However, such an exercise demands that it uses 3 grass trimmers/cutting machines

which cost more than UShs. 2,000,000.

Spraying: - The tea estate has drawn up work plans to spray all the grass that has

claimed large areas of the tea estate. Spraying is to be mostly done during the rainy

seasons by using selective herbicides (estimated cost of UShs. 4,000,000) and then

apply fertilizers worth UShs. 5,000,000 immediately after that.

Bush-cutting:- There is a dire need to cut down all the bushes on the tea estate that

have since destroyed and choked much of the tea plantation. This exercise will involve

cutting down on the buyukiyuki and other types of bushes/shrubs which are

widespread on the tea estate. The tea estate has hitherto been engaging prisoners and

a variety of other able-bodied and energetic workers for this kind of work. Since the

tea estate is sub-divided into eight (8) Blocks, the planned cost of bush-cutting per

Block is UShs. 4,000,000 such that it would require UShs. 32,000,000 to remove all

the bushes/shrubs from the entire tea estate.


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Factory Status

Practically, the entire tea set-up at Samaliya Tea Estate is in obsolete and derelict

condition including the buildings housing the tea-processing machinery and

equipment since it has never been changed/overhauled from the time the tea estate

was established in the early 1950s.In fact, all the tea-processing equipment and

machinery belongs to the 1940s 1960s era that can no longer be directly sourced on

the market including its spare parts.

The working condition and output capacity of the tea estate plant machinery is in

such a poor and sorry state that underlies its current very low output of made tea as

it is operated only once a week (so as not to run down the already delicate and

precarious condition of the still-functioning tea-processing equipment/machinery).

This is in stark contrast to the tea-processing capacity of the plant way back in 1972

when it used to process 4,500 5,000 kgs of green leaf tea per day (in 2 shifts of 12

hours each) as the composite parts and equipment of the plant were still in robust

and relatively brand new condition by then.

The only few good parts of the tea factory that are still in good running condition as oftoday are the CTC Roller (which needs some sharpening though with a good lathe

machine), but the rest of the parts and equipment just need to be completely and

comprehensively overhauled so as to bring the tea estate back to its pre-1973 made

tea output levels and standards.

However, if the rehabilitation of Samaliya Tea Estate is to be considered from a least-

cost-option perspective, then the sensible thing to do at this material time is to carry

out factory repairs and machinery parts replacements as explained below:-

1.The Dryer needs replacement of its mouth part that are estimated to costUShs. 10,000,000.

2.The Withering Troughs would require re-installation of 3 heavy duty fansrunning under 30 HP motors each. The cost for each fan is UShs. 1,900,000

and each motor costs UShs. 1,800,000 that brings the total cost to UShs. 11.1

million for the 3 withering troughs.

3. Build a new ConveyorSystem that draws the crushed tea leaves from the CTCrollerto the fermentation room and from there to the Dryer. The fermentation

room replacement costs UShs. 10 million.

4. Replacement ofSwitch board, Starters, and Isolators.5. Replacement and re-installation of the motor at Ball breaker is estimated to

cost UShs. 65,000.

6. Replacement ofPilo Bearings estimated to cost UShs. 50,000.


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7. Replacement ofFan Belts.8. Replacement ofGear Box, Pulley, Gear adjustment estimated to cost UShs.

300,000.

Rehabilitation of Housing Infrastructure:

The state and condition of the tea estate factory housing, administrative buildings,

and residential quarters also need to be seriously looked into since most of them are

weather-beaten and have never been repaired or renovated for the over 40 50 years

that they have stood on this estate. Some of these buildings are in such a state of

disrepair and neglect that they can no longer be considered safe and secure for tea

processing plant housing and human habituation any longer. They therefore pose a

great risk to both their machinery/equipment and human occupants to such an

extent that something needs to be done rather urgently to make them both safe and

habitable. The summary below provides an overview of the kind of repairs and

renovations that need to be urgently undertaken on the mentioned structures and

facilities at the tea estate.

1. Re-roofing the Dryer side of the factory plus provision of additional burglarproofing to cost UShs. 10 million.

2. Re-installation of the water system a pump, pipe works and reservoirs tocost UShs. 5 million.

3. Renovation of the main house this will require face-lifting, installation of amodern sanitation system all estimated to cost UShs. 30 million.

4. Repairs to existing workers houses and construction of a new labour line ableto accommodate over 30 tea estate workers all estimated to cost UShs. 20

million.

5. Installation of a modern communication system at the main office estimated tocost UShs. 5 million.

6. Construction of new store rooms with adequate storage space and capacity toaccommodate the various tea grades ranging from tea for export and tea for

domestic market sales estimated to cost UShs. 10 million.

7. Construction of social facilities and amenities at the tea estate including aHealth Centre, Day Care nursery centre, a factory canteen/shop.

Tea Out growers Scheme

Samaliya Tea Estate has an impressive 56-strong list of tea out-growers within its

immediate environs that currently produce and supply green leaf tea ranging between


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800 1,500 kgs/week to the factory depending on the season. These tea out-growers

seem not to have any formal organization that binds them together or advocates for

their interests at the moment though there are plans afoot to organize and have them

associated under a growers co-operative to be known as Masaka District Tea

Outgrowers Association for loaning, inputs provision and facilitation purposes.

These tea out-growers seem to have the will, resolution and enthusiasm to up on their

current tea production output levels provided they are given adequate incentives andproduction inputs to encourage and support them to sustain their production.

However, owing to the prevailing weak administrative and financial condition of the tea

estate at this time, it is unlikely that they are getting much support to increase their

tea output. Whatever green tea leaf they are producing, it entirely comes out of their

own resources and improvisations hence their low output given their numbers and

acreage under tea production (a total of 370 acres in all).

With that sort of area under tea cover throughout the year through the constant and

continuous provision of vital inputs like herbicides and fertilizers and application of

good tea management practices, these out-growers can be able to produce not less

than 1,776,000 kgs p.a. (assuming that 1 acre of tea plantation yields 400 kgs ofgreen tea per month under Ugandan conditions), which to all intents and purposes

would be quite a significant supplement and boost to Samaliya Tea Estates current

and future green tea production.

The Squatters/Encroachers

Samaliya Tea Estate continues to face the persistent twin problems of encroachment

by cattle grazers on its tea estate and squatters who have established over 214

homesteads on the tea estate spanning an area totaling over 190 acres in size.

Cattle grazers on the one part always drive their small herds of cattle to graze and feedon the widespread bushes and grasses that cover large parts of the unproductive land

of the tea estate. They take advantage of the lack of perimeter structures around the

tea estate, the wild and uncultivated land lying dormant under bush within the estate,

and the absence of strict anti-encroachment security measures and enforcements on

the part of the tea estate administration and management. So, they just drive in their

hordes of cattle at will and in any way they want to without restraint or control. In the

process of grazing encroachment on the tea estate by cattle herders, quite a good

number of the tea bushes in the marginal or dormant areas of production are

damaged by the cows as they are especially fond of feeding on the young tea shoots

and foliage.

The land squatters on the other hand seem to have taken up residence on this tea

estate for quite some time now a phenomenon that is fairly common on other under-

performing tea estate elsewhere in Uganda owing to weak management and oversight

controls and population pressure.

The squatter problem has been particularly exacerbated by some of the past

governments in Uganda that gave out encouraging signals for them to stay put


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wherever they might be which they saw as an opportunity for them to construct

permanent homes and other structures of residence at will on the tea estate. The

resulting outcome overtime has been that these squatters have now set up agricultural

activities within the tea estate that run counter to the Companys long-term objective

of reviving and expanding tea production acreage within the bounds and confines of

the tea estate. Some of the salient undesirable activities that have been spawned by

the unmitigated increase in squatter settlements on Samaliya Tea Estate include:-

y Construction and establishment of permanent homesteadsy Cutting down of trees on the tea estate for firewood and charcoaly Cutting down trees on the tea estate for construction poles and timbery Up-rooting the tea bushesy Planting bananas (matooke) on the tea estatey Planting eucalyptus trees on the estatey Planting coffee, maize, etc. on the tea estatey Making bricks in the swampy area

The cumulative impact of these squatter activities on Samaliya Tea Estate has been a

significant reduction in land acreage available for tea production and the reduction in

soil fertility as a result of their poor land-use techniques. Their activities have also

played a big part in increasing the aridity of the land as clearly evidenced by the

eventual and complete drying up of River Kazimba that used to be the only viable and

reliable source of water on the tea estate in the 1950s 1970s.

status report on samaliya tea estate

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