Tea farmers seek bail-out package

By Titus Too

Kenya: Tea farmers want the Government to address the declining tea producer prices to save the sub-sector from collapse.

They said the current tea prices are the worst and unless the government steps in to bail them out from financial distress by instantly making subsidised inputs available to them, the sector may soon collapse.

The farmers observed through their representatives that they have experienced a downward trend in tea prices with some factories failing to declare second payment (bonus) for the produce this season.

According to Wilson Tuwei, chairman of small-scale tea out growers in Nandi, some farmers in the county are now contemplating uprooting their crops to undertake other high-yielding ventures on their farms.

He noted the sub-sector has been the country’s leading foreign exchange earner.

Mr Tuwei said unlike in the past when all tea factories declared competitive bonuses for farmers, only one multinational firm operating in the area has declared payment of Sh16 per kilo in bonus in addition to Sh20 in first payment.

He said poor performance of the shilling against major foreign currencies, operational costs and farm inputs has remained a challenge thus denying tea farmers desired profits.

 “The quality of our produce is also declining because farmers cannot afford high cost of fertiliser. The government should make subsidised inputs available to cushion them,” said Tuwei. 

The official said residents in tea producing zones of the county largely depend on the crop for their financial needs and said some smallholder farmers were contemplating uprooting the crop to venture into dairy farming.

 “Some farmers have even planted eucalyptus trees in their tea farms as a way of phasing out the crop for alternative investments,” added Tuwei. 

Weather conditions

Paul Tiony, also a farmer, noted that instability in some Arab countries, the major market of the produce, and oversupply due to favourable weather conditions last year adversely affected the prices.

Tuwei and Tiony also said demands by labour movement in the sector to increase plucking rates by 40 per cent over each of the next two years will frustrate farmers.

 “A farmer earns on average between Sh18 to Sh20 per kilo of green leaf. From the proceeds, a farmer pays Sh12 per kg to tea pickers from the same earning and if 40 per cent is added, they will achieve nothing,” said Tiony.