In northern Chin state, Falam township, Myanmar , the authorities were collecting Kyat 1000 from every family in order to purchase tea seeds from 20 November 2008. The civilian will have to give into the demand before the end of December 2008.

A local said that the collection was organized by the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) and the money has to be submitted to Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) as announced by the Zaw Win Htay, Chairman of TPDC, Falam Township.

The authorities will purchase tea seeds from Shan state with the donation. Then the people have to make nurseries in March 2009 and from June they will plant in the tea plantation areas.

Last year's tea plantations were destroyed by fire. Now civilians will re-plant in the same place.

"Even if we plant the tea seeds, it will be dead soon as we cannot look after it by clearing bushes and giving water regularly as we are busy every day in our farming work. This time also all the tea tree will be gone," said a local.

The tea seeds have to be planted by the villagers from 168 villages of Falam Township . Now the authorities are following the same pattern they did last year. At the same time, they want Chin state to be a tea state as a SPDC government policy. Tea plantation has to start from the rainy season of the coming year.

Government records of 2007 show that the total area of tea plantation in 2001 was almost 10,500 acres but they cannot show how much they have produced from the plantation areas.