When and why did tea growers become bitter?

Timothy Sawe, a farmer from Emitik village, Olenguruoni in Kuresoi South Constituency who has grown the crop from 1983, monitor the crop after quality of leaves was destroyed by hailstorms currently experienced in the area following the ongoing rains [PHOTO/HENRY KWENYA/STANDARD]

Tea is major cash crop in Kenya and for a long time it was the leading foreign exchange earner. Today, the tea sector is grappling with numerous burning challenges, but majority of farmers won’t give up on it. Poor prices, low bonuses and poor infrastructure aside, the farmers are frustrated to the point of mulling over uprooting the crop. But will they? What choices do they have?

Timothy Sawe, a tea farmer from Emitik village, Olenguruoni in Kuresoi South Constituency, who has grown the crop from 1983 says they feel like the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has abandoned them.