Farmers losing Sh2.5m daily due to tea boycott

Farmers are losing Sh2.5 million daily since the troubled Thumaita tea factory was closed a week ago over disputed bonus payments.PHOTO: COURTESY

Farmers are losing Sh2.5 million daily since the troubled Thumaita tea factory was closed a week ago over disputed bonus payments.

County executive in charge of Agriculture Ngundo Warui said since violence erupted on August 26 leading to the indefinite closure of the facility, farmers have not picked tea.

''If you compute the loss the farmers have incurred in the last nine days at the rate of Sh2.5 million a day, this translates to Sh22.5 million so far," Mr Warui said.

The official is now appealing to the farmers whose membership stands at over 10,000 to reconsider their hard-line stance and resume tea picking.

A farmer Millicent Wanjiru asked the Government to get to the bottom of the matter by identifying the person who posted on the internet the Sh41.50 bonus payment which sparked off the riots.

"We are now reliably learning that a malicious person who wanted to discredit the factory leadership posted the disputed bonus payment leading to the riots," she said.

She said like other affected farmers, she is willing to end the boycott and resume picking tea.

Property of unknown value was destroyed after rowdy farmers rioted protesting the Sh41.50 bonus payments insisting on Sh46.50 as posted on social media.

Two homes of factory directors were set on fire by the irate farmers while heaps of dry wood meant for processing green tea were also burnt down .