How poor leaf quality, politics hurting Rift tea farmers

Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) national chairman Enos Njeru has attributed the persistent disparity in tea bonus payments between farmers in the East and West of the Rift to poor green-leaf quality, improper handling of tea and political interference in the industry.

Njeru said farmers in the West of the Rift could improve their earnings by adopting recommended tea husbandry practices and ensuring only quality green leaf was delivered to factories.

He spoke at Kapkatet Tea Factory in Bureti during a tour of tea-growing areas in the region.

He was accompanied by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) Tea Research Institute director Dr Lillian Kerio and Kapkatet Tea Factory chairman Dr Wesley Koech.

Njeru later addressed farmers at Chebiny in Cheplanget Ward, Bureti, where he presided over the graduation of 120 small-scale tea farmers who had completed training under a Farmers Field School programme organised by Kapkatet Tea Factory.

He challenged farmers to observe the recommended plucking standard of two leaves and a bud, saying the practice was critical to producing high-quality tea that could fetch better prices at the Mombasa auction.

“We want tea farmers to also pick good-quality tea leaves: two leaves and a bud, which contain polyphenols. Tea bushes should not be allowed to reach the third leaf,” Njeru said.

He observed that proper plucking intervals and handling of green leaf were crucial to determining the quality of the tea made and its competitiveness in the international market.

Njeru urged tea-buying centre committees in the West of the Rift to take a more active role in ensuring that farmers adhere to the two-leaves-and-a-bud standard, rather than leaving the responsibility entirely to factory clerks.

He also asked farmers to use tea baskets rather than sacks when harvesting and transporting green leaf to buying centres.

He said stacking tea in sacks caused the leaves to tear and wither before processing, compromising quality.

“That is why, as KTDA, we do not advocate for tea harvesting machines. We encourage manual plucking because it helps produce the best tea quality,” he said.

The KTDA chairman also blamed political interference and disputes in the tea sector for weakening the market for tea from the West of the Rift.

He claimed buyers at the Mombasa tea auction were increasingly wary of tea from the region because of political disputes and interference in the industry's management.

“Politicians and politics should be kept away from the tea industry. Tea business abhors politics. There is too much politics and political interference in KTDA’s West of the Rift region. The noise should stop because it drives buyers away,” he said.

He urged politicians to restrict their involvement in the sector to policy and legislation, while farmers should use factory directors to raise issues affecting their factories.

“Politicians should only come in during the drafting of bills at the National Assembly. That should be their only role,” Njeru said.

He also blamed the growth of tea hawking and independent tea factories in the West of the Rift for depressing farmers’ earnings.

Njeru said KTDA factories had an advantage because they paid annual bonuses, unlike some independent factories which, he claimed, did not provide similar payments to farmers.

“Only KTDA pays bonuses. Independent tea factories which flourish in the West of the Rift don’t pay farmers bonuses. They literally exploit tea farmers in the region,” he said.

He said KTDA wanted to work with farmers and factory directors to improve factory performance in the region and increase bonus payments.

The agency, he said, was targeting bonuses of Sh40 to Sh50 or more per kilogramme of made tea for farmers supplying KTDA-managed factories in the West of the Rift.

Njeru also sought to dispel the perception that the KTDA national office or its chairman determines the annual bonus amount paid to farmers.

He said the decision rested with individual factory boards.

“I do not influence the decision-making at all. It’s the individual factory directors who determine the bonus payment,” he said.

He cited Rukoriri Tea Factory, where he serves as a director, saying his position as KTDA national chairman did not give him authority to determine the factory’s bonus.

“Even for Rukoriri Tea Factory, where I am a director, I don’t have a say over the matter as the KTDA national chairman,” he said.

Njeru praised Kapkatet Tea Factory for improving its performance, citing its tea sale batch 36, which he said had propelled the factory to position 46 nationally among KTDA’s 71 factories.

According to Njeru, KTDA has 54 main factory companies and 17 satellite factories serving about 600,000 smallholder tea farmers across 16 tea-growing counties.

He also said KTDA was exploring new markets for Kenyan tea, including the United States, where its marketing team was negotiating with Walmart over the possible purchase of Kenyan tea at about $10 (Sh130) per kilogramme of made tea.

Dr Kerio said KALRO Tea Research Institute was working with industry stakeholders to strengthen the tea sector through research, innovation and product diversification.

“We are promoting climate-smart tea varieties and disseminating environmentally friendly practices which reduce the carbon footprint of tea production. Our shared goal is to build a tea sector that is productive, innovative and resilient,” she said.

Dr Kerio also defended the introduction of the tea levy, saying it had been designed to strengthen the industry without placing an additional burden on farmers. “It is deducted at the point of import and export and shows fairness by creating a sustainable pool of resources to fund research and innovation,” she said.