The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has dismissed figures circulating on social media claiming to represent the final payments for tea farmers in the 2024/2025 financial year.
In a statement released on September 3, the agency clarified that no factory has declared its final payment and described the figures circulating online as misleading.
“Factories have not yet declared their final payment for the 2024/2025 financial year. The numbers circulating online are therefore false,” the statement read in part.
KTDA said official figures will be released later this month once the declaration process is complete.
The agency urged its more than 650,000 farmers to remain patient and rely on official communication channels.
“We would like to inform our farmers and all stakeholders that the final numbers shall be communicated once the process has concluded,” it said.
Reaffirming its commitment to farmers, KTDA noted that its “Farmer First” principle assures stakeholders of transparency in the payment process.
The clarification comes as anticipation builds across tea-growing zones ahead of the annual bonus payout, expected next month.
Farmers traditionally rely on the annual final payment, commonly referred to as the “bonus,” to support household and community incomes.
KTDA manages 71 tea factories in 21 counties. Of these, 54 operate as fully autonomous factories, while 17 are run under mother factories.
Before the final pay is announced, individual factory directors meet to review the performance of their factories over the last financial year.
Bonuses are calculated based on each factory’s total earnings from tea sales over the previous 12 months.
After deducting operational and overhead costs, the remaining earnings per kilogram are determined.
The amount already paid to farmers as a monthly green leaf payment, currently Sh23 per kilo, is deducted, and the balance is multiplied by the total kilogrammes of green leaf supplied by each farmer during the year.
The final sum is then paid out as a bonus, typically declared in September and paid in October.
In 2023, farmers sold 1.4 billion kilogrammes of tea, the highest volume ever recorded in Kenya’s history.
Bonus payments for that year varied significantly by region and factory. Imenti in the East and Momul in the West of Rift recorded the highest rates at Sh60.30 and Sh50.30 per kilo, respectively.
Overall, farmers received Sh67.7 billion in 2023, including Sh23.55 billion in monthly green leaf payments.
This was an increase from Sh62.88 billion in 2022, representing a 7.6 per cent rise in total payments and a 17.6 per cent increase in earnings per kilogram.
However, green leaf production fell by 9 per cent over the same period.
