- He said members affiliated to the KTDA will not be allowed to run for factories’ Board of Directors elections if they have filed cases against the agency.
- “People who are greedy for power have taken farmers to court and their lawyers are being paid from farmers’ earnings. It is not right,” Gachagua said.
Image: DPCS
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has called for the withdrawal of court cases frustrating tea reforms, saying they are hindering realisation of higher benefits for farmers.
The DP said farmers deserve better returns on their investment and it is wrong for actors in the industry to file cases that hinder efforts to make the sector more lucrative.
“Court cases have frustrated reforms in the subsector. I call upon stakeholders who genuinely mean well to withdraw the cases and allow these reforms to be implemented fully for the benefit of the Kenyan farmer,” Gachagua said.
He said members affiliated with the Kenya Tea Development Agency will not be allowed to run for factories’ Board of Directors elections if they have filed cases against the agency.
“People who are greedy for power have taken farmers to court and their lawyers are being paid from farmers’ earnings. It is not right,” Gachagua said.
“It is unethical and immoral. You cannot say you mean well for the farmer yet you take the farmer to court and use their earnings to sustain the case against them.”
Gachagua spoke on Thursday while presiding over the release of the Tea Industry Performance Report, 2023, at Tea House, Nairobi.
The report was prepared by the Tea Board of Kenya.
The report indicates that Kenya exported 522.92 million kilograms of tea in 2023 up from 450.33 million kilograms recorded in 2022.
This represents a 16 per cent increase or 72.58 million kilograms.
Earnings from the exports shot up to Sh180.57 billion from Sh138.09 billion realized in 2022.
The increased production in 2023 was attributed to good rainfall between April and December last year and the distribution of subsidised fertiliser to the farmers by the government.
Gachagua said the government is pushing for the expansion of the Kenyan tea market globally to increase exports for more earnings.
“We will work hand-in-hand with the stakeholders in stamping our authority and presence on the world stage because our tea is the best in the world yet our presence is not felt to the level that it should be,” the DP said.
He said the re-establishment of the Tea Board of Kenya had brought sanity to the subsector that had been struggling with challenges that threatened to bring it down.
“We are also re-establishing the Coffee Board of Kenya. These sectors are important to our economy. They should stand on their own. It was a wrong policy to collapse the sectors under one umbrella body,” he pointed out.
Gachagua said the government will work with county governments and the factories to set up production lines for orthodox tea.
“Orthodox tea earns more. We will look into increasing production for ready markets,” he said.
Concerning the upcoming directors’ elections, the DP called on farmers to put integrity first and choose leaders who will fight for their interests.
“Good leadership will promote and protect the reforms we are undertaking for a sane and productive Tea subsector,” Gachagua said.
He said the government will on its part provide adequate support through the national government administration.
He said the administrators have been asked to work with the Tea Board of Kenya to arrest those engaging in hawking of tea leaves.
“We have instructed the National Government Administration Officers to give every support to the Tea Board of Kenya to make sure those engaged in tea hawking are apprehended and charged in court because we cannot allow criminal elements to ruin the sector,” he said.