- Alongwith with AI (Artificial Intelligence), blockchain technology and big data will also be used in conjunction.
- Besides increased productivity, reduced costs and proper health safety, tea farmers will also be able to receive appreciation for their efforts.
Representational Image
With the help of this initiative, ACIL will become the first tea company in India to test and operate an agricultural drone in the Assam tea gardens. SmartFarms Inc. will assist ACIL to develop a fully automatic pesticide spraying drone for sprinkling pesticides while flying over the garden. This will ensure that health and safety of tea farmers is protected by no longer carrying hand-operated pesticide sprayer.
Blockchain technology for barcode system
For efficient traceability, identification, proof of authenticity and quality assurance, ACIL intends to implement a blockchain technology-based barcode system that will have unique reader to identify codes.
Sanjay Jain, Director, ACIL, said, “We are trying to bring in new technologies from Israel, Australia and the US, to revive the tea industry. The marking will give an identity to the product. An Israeli firm will help us with DNA barcoding and RFID technology for the cause of traceability from the moment the tea leaf is plucked till the moment it is consumed.”
Recognising the tea farming efforts
Now tea drinkers in any part of the world will be able to acknowledge and appreciate the remarkable efforts of tea farmers.
“If anyone in America drinking a cup of tea wants to tip the farmer who plucked the leaves, they will be able to do so. It will be an app-based system,” said Sanjay Jain.
Armed with cutting-edge technology, ACIL also aims to increase productivity and bring down costs.
The union minister of state for food processing industries, Rameswar Teli, has hailed the initiative and has laid emphasis on the need for using latest technology for strengthening the food industry.
