Abstract

Abstract for: Reframing Tea Cultivation through Systems Thinking: A System Analysis of Conventional Tea Systems and Module-based Vertical Tea Systems in Sri Lanka

Introduction The tea sector in Sri Lanka is facing multiple interconnected challenges, including declining productivity, labor shortages, climate variability, land degradation, and deteriorating green-leaf quality. Conventional responses, specifically high-density, high-input cultivation, have improved short-term yields but often intensified systemic issues such as soil degradation, pest pressure, and quality instability. These challenges indicate that tea cultivation should be understood as a complex dynamic system rather than a purely agronomic process.
Approach This study applies systems thinking and system dynamics to compare conventional tea cultivation with a Module-based Vertical Tea System (MVTS), a controlled-environment, modular production system integrating vertical farming, hydroponics/aeroponics, LED lighting, and automated environmental control.
Results Causal loop diagrams are developed to represent and compare the feedback structures of both systems. Preliminary findings indicate that conventional tea cultivation is dominated by environment-driven feedback loops, whereas MVTS shifts the system toward engineered controllability.
Discussion Initial simulation insights suggest potential improvements in yield, quality, and labor efficiency under MVTS configurations. This work is ongoing, and future research will focus on validation, model refinement, and techno-economic assessment.

Introduction	The tea sector in Sri Lanka is facing multiple interconnected challenges, including declining productivity, labor shortages, climate variability, land degradation, and deteriorating green-leaf quality. Conventional responses, specifically high-density, high-input cultivation, have improved short-term yields but often intensified systemic issues such as soil degradation, pest pressure, and quality instability. These challenges indicate that tea cultivation should be understood as a complex dynamic system rather than a purely agronomic process.
Approach	This study applies systems thinking and system dynamics to compare conventional tea cultivation with a Module-based Vertical Tea System (MVTS), a controlled-environment, modular production system integrating vertical farming, hydroponics/aeroponics, LED lighting, and automated environmental control.
Results	Causal loop diagrams are developed to represent and compare the feedback structures of both systems. Preliminary findings indicate that conventional tea cultivation is dominated by environment-driven feedback loops, whereas MVTS shifts the system toward engineered controllability.
Discussion	Initial simulation insights suggest potential improvements in yield, quality, and labor efficiency under MVTS configurations. This work is ongoing, and future research will focus on validation, model refinement, and techno-economic assessment.