Small-scale tea farmers in Bomet and Kericho counties have decided to establish a regional auction centre to market their produce locally.
The farmers met at Silibwet in Bomet on Saturday, barely a month after they met in Kericho for a similar meeting. They said the auction bay will be the second largest in Kenya and third largest in Africa. It will be set up in Kericho.
The meeting attended by farmers from Kisii county produced the ‘Silibwet Declaration’. It came after the ‘Sosiot Declaration’, in which farmers agreed to market their own tea.
Previously, they had to pass through the Mombasa auction. The farmers will now avoid brokers and cartels, whom they termed exploitative.
During the meeting attended by Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto, farmers said the tea auction centre will bring together farmers from the Western bloc – Bomet, Kericho Kisii, Nyamira and Nandi.
