Reimagining Arunachal Pradesh Tea Economy: Digital Transformation, Sustainable Value-Chain Development, Women’s Empowerment through Self-Help Groups, and Gen Z Engagement in Northeast India
Main Article Content
Abstract
The tea economy of Arunachal Pradesh represents an emerging opportunity for rural livelihood generation, entrepreneurship, women’s economic participation, sustainable agriculture, and regional branding in Northeast India. However, tea growers—particularly small and marginal producers—face challenges related to fragmented production, limited processing infrastructure, dependence on intermediaries, price volatility, weak market access, inadequate branding, and limited participation in value-added activities. At the same time, rapid digitalization, social-media-based marketing, electronic commerce, consumer interest in sustainable products, women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and the growing purchasing influence of Generation Z (Gen Z) create new possibilities for restructuring the tea value chain.
This research paper proposes an integrated framework for reimagining Arunachal Pradesh’s tea economy through four mutually reinforcing dimensions: digital transformation, sustainable value-chain development, women’s empowerment through SHGs, and Gen Z engagement. The study adopts a mixed-method research design incorporating secondary literature, stakeholder analysis, structured questionnaires, interviews, and value-chain assessment. The proposed analytical framework examines relationships among digital adoption, sustainable production, SHG participation, perceived product authenticity, Gen Z engagement, and market performance. Evidence from the broader Northeast Indian tea sector indicates that collective organization can improve growers’ access to markets, information and fairer returns, while sustainable production and value addition can enable smallholders to move beyond the role of raw-material suppliers.
The paper argues that Arunachal Pradesh can develop a distinctive “green, digital and community-owned tea economy” by integrating traceability, e-commerce, social-media storytelling, sustainable cultivation, women-led enterprises, collective processing, and youth-oriented branding. The study concludes that digital transformation should not be viewed merely as a marketing intervention but as an enabling mechanism connecting producers, SHGs, processors, consumers and institutions across the entire value chain....
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Das, A., & Mishra, R. R. (2019). Value chain analysis of tea and constraints faced by the small tea growers in India with special reference to state Assam. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 8(12), 1592–1601. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.812.191
Deka, N., et al. (2022). Organic cultivation and sustainable value chain development for tea smallholders: Findings from Assam, India. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 32, 562–579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.05.004
Saha, D. (2020). Producer collectives through self-help: Sustainability of small tea growers in India. International Review of Applied Economics, 34(4), 471–490. https://doi.org/10.1080/02692171.2020.1773646
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press.
Porter, M. E., & Millar, V. E. (1985). How information gives you competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 63(4), 149–160.
Sharma, M., Noel, A. S., Kale, P. S., & Maurya, M. K. (2025). Exploring the challenges and marketing ecosystem of small tea growers in Assam, India. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 47(5), 719–726. https://doi.org/10.9734/jeai/2025/v47i53460
John Mano Raj, S. (2020). Role of market intermediaries and marketing practices of small tea growers in Assam. Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture & Technology, 12(3), 209–217.
Ghosh, S., Mahapatra, M. S., Tandon, N., & Tandon, D. (2024). Achieving Sustainable Development Goal of women empowerment: A study among self-help groups in India. FIIB Business Review, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/23197145231169074
Patel, R., & Mistry, S. (2024). Women empowerment through self-help groups in India – A comprehensive literature review. Journal of Informatics Education and Research, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.52783/jier.v4i1.644
Tripathi, S., Chaudhary, S., Rai, S., Vasanthi, M., Bhandari, J., Sahu, B. L., Singh, J. K., Mishra, B. P., & Pandey, A. (2025). Women's Self-help Groups (SHG) in India: A critical review of their impact and pathways toward gender equity. Archives of Current Research International, 25(12), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.9734/acri/2025/v25i121659
Kaur, S., et al. (2021). The power of the collective empowers women: Evidence from self-help groups in India. World Development, 146, 105579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105579
Empowering women through the Self-Help Group Bank Linkage Programme as a tool for sustainable development: Lessons from India. (2021). Community Development Journal, 58(2), 283–300.
Phukan, J., & Chakraborty, D. K. (2026). Small tea growers' perception towards pricing of green tea leaf in Dibrugarh District of Assam. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 62(2). https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2026.62212
Sharma, L. (2025). The influence of product availability and social media on green food product purchase intention. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 17(3), 814–839. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-04-2024-0208
Behavioral intention to purchase sustainable food: Generation Z's perspective. (2024). Sustainability, 16(17), 7284.
Tea Board/Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. (2025). Tea Development & Promotion Scheme: Government strengthens Assam's tea sector through productivity and producer empowerment efforts. Press Information Bureau..