Several Private Tea factories in Bomet have called on the government to adjust their subsidised fertiliser programme by including the private sector in the plans.
Led by Greenfield Tea Factory Assistant Out growers manager Ambrose Cheruiyot, they said the private sector cannot access subsidised fertiliser.
Cheruiyot said the government should intervene and assist them by being beneficiaries of the programme so that they can remain afloat because they have been struggling.
“The high cost of fertilisers has been giving undue advantage to farmers supplying their tea to KTDA over those ferrying to private factories and the programme should be uniform among all the farmers. We need to make all the farmers afford the essential input,” he said.
The local price of fertiliser had risen to Sh3,073 for a 50-kilogramme but with the government subsidy, the cost was reduced to Sh2,473 per 50 kg bag.
The assistant manager said even though they pay farmers earlier than the other factories in the region, they still feel the pain of the high cost of fertilisers that they procure for them.
Cheruiyot said private factories have been helping communities around them.
He said in Chemaner, Bomet East constituency, the Greenfields tea factory has been repairing roads leading to their factory and assisting the local communities.
“The regulations are crafted in such a way that it is too difficult for private entities to make rapid decisions and embark on the construction of roads or other social amenities without going through a rigorous authorization process,” he said.
The assistant manager urged the two levels of government to enact policies that will enable the private sector to intervene in some dire situations, where such challenges need involvement from other stakeholders.
“Sometimes private investors could be willing to assist in repairing roads or do other social amenities surrounding their respective factories but the government needs to streamline the way of our involvement when the need arises,” Cheruiyot said.
Among other benefits that nearby communities get from private factories include sponsorship of vulnerable children, planting of trees and repair of roads.
