KENYA – Tea farmers in Kenya’s West Rift region are calling for a review of the Tea Act, citing challenges that they attribute to cartel activities influencing the Mombasa tea auction.
During a public hearing with the National Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, the farmers expressed frustrations over lower-than-expected bonus payments, which they claim are the result of manipulation by powerful market players.
Led by Vice Chairman and Konoin MP Brighton Yegon, farmers from the West Rift region reported receiving a bonus of KES 20 (US$0.16) per kilogram, markedly lower than the KES 62 (US$0.48) per kilogram received by their counterparts in the East Rift tea-growing region.
A farmer cited by The Standard attributed these discrepancies to cartel interference in the Mombasa auction and called for factory directors to be more assertive in advocating for fair treatment of farmers.
“We need thorough audits of all our factories,” one farmer stated, adding, “Farmers are suffering. In addition to low bonus payments, we have not received dividends since 2022. The Tea Board of Kenya must remain neutral and perform its duties impartially.”
The speaker urged that scientific methods of tea quality testing be adopted, stating that current testing methods are outdated and lack accuracy.
The farmers also called for an end to the practice of consolidating multiple factories under one management arguing that merging factories contributes to inefficiencies, which ultimately reduce their earnings.
KTDA Vice Chairman Eric Chepkwony addressed this issue, noting that the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which manages 69 tea factories owned by smallholder farmers across 21 counties, has already taken steps towards separating factories, with coding currently underway.
Chepkwony encouraged farmers to be patient until the next annual general meeting, where further updates on the separation process would be provided.
MP Yegon assured farmers that the committee would advocate for implementing resolutions aimed at improving the tea sector’s performance and transparency.
He emphasized the need for the adoption of scientific methods in testing tea quality, noting, “It is questionable that the majority of the factories from this region received the same pay of KES 20 (US$0.16) per kilogram, except Momul, which performed well and received KES 50 (US$0.39) per kilogram.”
Despite the sector’s challenges, tea farming remains a significant economic activity in Kenya.
For the period from July 2023 to June 2024, farmers earned KES 88.52 billion (US$686.1M) for delivering 1.41 billion kilograms of green leaf to 54 factories.
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