Healthy Diets for Tea Communities - Assam Results


Global tea production totals over USD 17 billion annually, and the sector continues to grow. In many countries, the tea sector contributes significantly to income and employment for millions of rural families, with smallholder farmers producing 60 percent of world production. However, tea workers and farmers often suffer from high malnutrition rates because their diets, which consist largely of staple foods such as rice, bread, maize, and wheat, often lack foods rich in essential nutrients and vitamins needed for good health. Nutritious foods are often less affordable and available to this population, and they may be less aware of the importance of healthy diets. In Assam State, one of the main tea-producing states in India, 18 percent of women are underweight, 66 percent of women are anaemic, and 15 percent of women are overweight.