Guizhou's Meitan builds an eco-friendly tea industry

Workers enhance the fragrance of tea by hand. [Photo by Liu Boqian/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Meitan, Guizhou province, is stepping up efforts to create an environmentally sustainable tea industry through judicial action and public outreach.

In late autumn, some 300,000 local tea farmers have begun harvesting the season's final crop. Authorities have prioritized eco-friendly farming practices, which helped all local agricultural products pass safety inspections over the past year.

Early in 2022, the local court established the country's first environmental protection tribunal for the tea industry to address ecological harm caused by tea cultivation.

With 300,000 farmers depending on tea as a key industry, authorities are prioritizing eco-friendly farming practices. [Photo by Liu Boqian/For chinadaily.com.cn]

The tribunal banned glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide in tea farming, in the region due to its high residue levels.

Yang Dong, an official from the local agriculture department, praised the province's agricultural chemical regulations: "The national standard bans 98 types of pesticides, while we prohibit 156. Glyphosate is strictly forbidden in all our tea-producing areas. We even have a slogan: 'Better weeds than glyphosate.'"

A visitor experiences tea picking in a Meitan field. [Photo by Liu Boqian/For chinadaily.com.cn]

In addition to judicial efforts, the county places importance on publicizing eco-friendly planting practices. Every Oct 29, Meitan holds a field management event to demonstrate techniques like pruning and fertilization. These demonstrations serve as a platform to educate farmers on maintaining tea quality and safety.

"We can assure consumers that the tea they drink from Meitan is safe," Yang added.