Tea leaves on a farm in Kangema, Murang'a CountyLack of information has been blamed for the disquiet facing many tea farming areas in the country over the annual bonuses.
Many smallholder tea farmers have decried the reduced bonuses paid this year, an occurrence that Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has attributed to a slump in the international market.
KTDA earlier this month announced that a weakened shilling led to a decline in tea prices, which affected the more than 680,000 smallholder farmers supported by the crop.
But Ikumbi tea factory chairperson Onesmus Kibuna said the bonuses are affected by many factors that sometimes farmers are oblivious to.
He said each tea factory managed by KTDA operates as limited company and is affected by issues such as the cost of production and the sale of its products.
“Every year around this time, there’s usually too much noise over the annual bonuses. We need to educate our farmers that it doesn’t matter what the factory across the river is paying because each factory operates as an individual entity,” he said.
The chairperson pointed out that poor consumption of processed tea exposes farmers to fluctuating global prices, affecting their earnings.
Data released by the Tea Board of Kenya revealed that Kenyans consumed 3.21 million kilogrammes of tea in June this year against a monthly production of 42.4 million kilogrammes, an increase from the 2.86 million kilogrammes consumed in the same month last year.
About 17.98 million kilogrammes were sold locally from January to June this year against 274.6 million kilogrammes exported within same period.
Kibuna, who spoke during the launch of Murang’a Press Club, called for a nationwide campaign targeting youthful and middle-aged Kenyans, with the aim of boosting sales of orthodox tea and other tea products locally.
“Most youths think tea involves only milk tea and is consumed by the elderly. They don’t know that we have an array of tea products that are very beneficial to their bodies,” he said.
Kibuna said improved local sales would complement efforts by the government to expand tea markets internationally and cushion farmers against reduced earnings.
“Just recently, we went to China to try and expand the orthodox tea market but as we seek foreign markets, we should also ensure the local market is well utilised,” he said.
The partnership between the Chinese and Kenyan governments has seen Chinese experts visit two tea factories that have been earmarked to process orthodox tea for China market.
The Kenya-China Tea Partnership in Action was put in place following an agreement between President William Ruto and the chairperson of Benny Tea Industries Zhang Chaobon in May this year.
Mungania tea factory, a KTDA-managed factory in Embu county and Chebango factory, which is privately owned, will be used to process China-preferred teas for export.
Joseph Karanu, former Githambo tea factory chairperson echoed similar sentiments, noting the discontent surrounding annual bonuses is only heard from smallholder farmers.
“What they don’t know is there are many other large-scale farmers and tea firms operating in the country. The farmers blame directors and brokers, rightly or wrongly, but its all because they access very little information,” he said.
Karanu called for farmers to be sensitised on what smallholder tea farming entails and the issues that affect it so they can make decisions from a point of knowledge.
“When I served as a director and chairperson, I did the best I could for my farmers and they were still very unhappy with me and called me names. They even boycotted tea picking and eventually voted me out," he said.
"But I came to realise it was not because I did anything wrong but its because of the information gap that has left them scrambling for answers.”
Karanu called for in-depth analysis to be done each bonus season so farmers can understand why prices rise or fall.
With 10 KTDA- managed factories, Murang’a county leads 19 tea producing counties, with the crop raking in Sh17.8 billion in 2024.
Instant Analysis
Data released by the Tea Board of Kenya revealed that Kenyans consumed 3.21 million kilogrammes of tea in June this year against a monthly production of 42.4 million kilogrammes, an increase from the 2.86 million kilogrammes consumed in the same month last year. The partnership between the Chinese and Kenyan governments has seen Chinese experts visit two tea factories that have been earmarked to process orthodox tea for the Chinese market. Ikumbi tea factory chairperson Onesmus Kibuna said improved local sales would complement efforts by the government to expand tea markets internationally and cushion farmers against reduced earnings.
