KTDA warns farmers against selling their produce to illegal marketers

KENYA – Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Board Chairman David Ichoho has warned that KTDA may discontinue its services to registered farmers who have been selling their produce to illegal marketers.

“If you go out there and sell outside it means that you can be sanctioned, part of it will blacklist you from being our farmers,” said Ichoho.

“Our concern is that farmers are losing their hard-earned cash to these tea hawkers and brokers. They are giving away their green tea for Ksh.25 per kilogram which should earn them Ksh.150 when we pay the bonus.”

The chairman uttered the warning during the signing of a renewed contract between five tea factory companies from Nyeri County and KTDA in Ruiru, Kiambu County.

Tea growers’ representatives appealed to the Kenya Tea Board regulatory body to deregister or revoke the licenses of those companies that have been exploiting farmers by buying their crops at throw-away prices from the farms.

The farmers’ representatives pointed out that the brokers were buying green tea leaf at Ksh.25 per kilogram which is way too low.

Going with the brokers’ prices, the representatives said farmers stand to lose their earnings from private companies and individuals who hawk the produce.

According to Ichoho, the tea hawkers who have invaded mostly the Central Kenya region were violating the law which requires that they must have 250 acres of the crop to be licensed to establish tea factories.

According to section 19 of the Crops Act 2013, a factory should not buy green leaf from any person other than the growers appearing in its register. Section 14 of the same Act blocks farmers from selling their tea to any party other than the factory they are registered in.

According to KTDA officials, most counties affected by the illegal hawking of green leaves are Kirinyaga, Embu, and Meru where hundreds of kilogrammes have been diverted to other processors.

He also said the agency has started consultations with the government on ways of minimizing the effects of the Finance Act, which is likely to raise the cost of production.

“We have tried to invest in systems that reduce the cost of production such as small hydro powers which are producing substantial power. We are, however, asking the government to allow us to onload our power to the national grid and then channel the same power to our factories at a lower cost,” Ichoho explained.

Furthermore, the Chairman said international factors like the civil strife in Pakistan and Sudan which are the main consumers of Kenyan tea, as well as scarcity and high cost of the dollar are posing a huge challenge in marketing.

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