KENYA – The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has initiated the implementation of a Smart Energy Monitoring System in its managed tea factories to enhance energy efficiency in tea processing.
This system aims to leverage data to improve tea production, optimize factory processes, reduce costs, and ultimately increase income for farmers.
Currently undergoing a pilot phase at the Itumbe and Kiru tea factories under the KTDA Foundation, in collaboration with the German Development Agency GIZ, this system is the first of its kind in tea factories designed to manage operational costs through energy efficiency and automation.
A notable feature of the Smart Energy Monitoring System is its real-time quantification of energy consumption by source during the tea processing phase. This capability enables swift decision-making and interventions for better energy utilization.
Sudi Matara, the General Manager of KTDA Foundation, highlighted the organization’s commitment to using energy-efficient systems to cut operational expenses, decrease carbon emissions, and contribute to climate change mitigation.
He emphasized, ” If we are able to manage our costs, then that is a gain to the farmer. We are also looking at issues of sustainability and carbon emissions. One of the things that we are doing as an organization is decarbonizing our operations across the tea value chain.”
The system allows factories to electronically monitor energy usage, collecting data on crucial parameters such as biomass quantity used in tea processing and the volume of steam generated.
Detailed reports generated by the system provide insights into reducing energy inefficiencies and enhancing operational efficiency.
KTDA emphasized that this initiative represents a significant step forward in tea factory management, introducing automation and energy efficiency to streamline tea manufacturing processes. The system enables efficient data collection, leading to a more cost-effective tea production ecosystem.
“By cutting unnecessary costs tied to inefficient data collection processes, KTDA has created a more cost-effective and streamlined tea manufacturing ecosystem,” stated KTDA.
The tea sector in Kenya is increasingly adopting automation and mechanization to streamline operations.
Last year, Sasini cut 267 jobs with the adoption of digitized operations and technological interventions such as mechanized tea harvesting, playing a huge role in reducing wastage, increasing efficiencies, and containing the cost of production.
Meanwhile, the government is considering lowering the minimum price for tea sold at the Mombasa auction following increased concerns about excesses of unsold tea consignments.
The established minimum price of US$2.43 per kilogram was introduced in 2021 for tea sold by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), holding a production market share of approximately 65 percent.
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