• Tea farmers have complained about low bonuses from factories.
• Rukuriri factory announced a payout of Sh39 from Sh49 given last year.
Embu tea farmers have been urged to grow alternative crops to avoid frequent complaints about low bonuses.
Citing fish farming as a viable alternative, Kenya Fisheries Service director Jessica Gakinya yesterday cautioned farmers against getting stuck in tea growing if it does not fetch better returns.
This year, tea farmers have complained about low bonuses from factories. Rukuriri factory announced a payout of Sh39 from Sh49 given last year.
Mungania factory farmers will get Sh37 from Sh50 last year. Kathangariri tea factory announced bonus payout of Sh35 from last year's Sh45.
The farmers said the money is little and will not enable them to finance their loans, which attract high interests.
But Gakinya said they should diversify if they have to earn more. “Some farming requires a small piece of land and earns a better income than tea farming, which requires huge tracts to fetch better income,” she said.
Gakinya said fish farming will boost their incomes and called for education so they learn how to go about it.
"With proper methods, this can give high yields to help meet the demand locally. The fish market in Kenya is huge and that's the reason we are seeing imports from China and other countries," she said.
She appealed to farmers to add value to their produce so they earn more. "Tea factories should also avoid tea brokers and go to the markets directly," she said.
Gakinya said modern-day tea farmers are still in the sector because tea is a traditional crop in the region but lack essential information on alternative crops. She challenged local leaders to educate farmers on diversification.
"Diversification is a must in this day and time. With the changing weather patterns, we need to try and farm other crops that can do well in our area. The reason people have stuck with tea farming is that our parents and grandparents did so. Therefore, we lack information on what else we can grow," she said.
(Edited by F'Orieny)