Farmers will now receive Sh51.8 billion compared to Sh46.4 billion paid out in the last financial year.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has increased farmers’ bonus by Sh5 billion as it seeks to discourage them from boycotting tea picking in protest of poor payment rate.
In a statement to newsrooms, the tea agency said farmers will now receive Sh51.8 billion compared to Sh46.4 billion paid out in the last financial year.
"We urge farmers not to be incited to boycott tea plucking as it would lead to heavy and unnecessary losses to them," the statement said.
The increase follows protests by farmers across the country over poor bonuses payments announced this year, with growers threatening to boycott tea picking.
KTDA noted that in the last financial year, tea production went up by 30 per cent, which exacerbated the surplus situation in the world — Kenya being a leading exporter of black tea.
The overproduction consequently affected prices at the Mombasa auction by 8 per cent in the second year in a row, according to the agency.
The agency said to ensure farmers do not incur any losses, the over 4,000 tea buying centres operated by KTDA-managed tea factories will remain operational and collect green leaf from farmers as is the norm.
Source: Nation Media
The call comes days after tea farmers from the Mt. Kenya region threatened to boycott harvesting the crop until the National Assembly passes the sector reforms bill proposed by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya.
The farmers also issued the threat to put pressure on the agency’s Chairman Peter Kanyago to quit after it was revealed that he has also been doubling as a broker.
The Agency has also been blamed by farmers of poor bonus payments, as well as failure by the agency to do away with court cases that it filed to block the implementation of the regulations proposed by Munya.
But KTDA says the boycott will be unfortunate considering farmers own their farms, factories and KTDA through their factories.
The agency says it will ensure that farmers do not incur any losses, adding that it will remain operational and will collect green leaf from farmers as is the norm.
“In this regard, and to ensure that farmers do not incur any losses, the over 4,000 tea buying centres operated by KTDA-managed tea factories will remain operational and will collect green leaf from farmers as is the norm. Subsequently, the 69 factories under KTDA’s management will also remain operational.”
The agency also addressed the complaints on the drop in the price of the commodity for the period between July 2019 to June 30, 2020.
According to the Agency, smallholder tea production went up by 30 percent during the period under review, exacerbating the surplus production situation in the world, as Kenya is the leading exporter of tea
Source: Capital FM
Tea farmers stage protests outside Gitugi tea factory in Nyeri County on October 5, 2020.
Bonuses have been increased by Sh5 billion — from Sh46.4 billion paid out in the last financial year to Sh51.8 billion.
In Meru County, some farmers yesterday started uprooting tea bushes to protest the poor earnings from the crop.
Farmers in some parts of Nyeri on Monday made good their threat to boycott tea plucking in protests against low bonus payments.
Those affiliated to Gitugi, Gathuthi, Iriaini, Chinga and Ragati factories did not deliver their produce. Last week, the farmers said failure by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to do away with the court cases that it filed to block the implementation of the tea regulations would spark protests from all tea growing areas.
The farmers said they have been burdened by debts all their lives and have given up on KTDA.
Bonuses have been increased by Sh5 billion — from Sh46.4 billion paid out in the last financial year to Sh51.8 billion.
According to the agency, the increase is founded on the revenues realised by all the 54-KTDA affiliated factories on account of increased tea volumes and better exchange rates, and not a result of any payment from the agency.
In Meru County, some farmers yesterday started uprooting tea bushes to protest the poor earnings from the crop.
Each month, the agency pays farmers Sh16 a kilo, from which tea pickers get Sh10, leaving the farmer with Sh6, which is used to pay for tax and fertilisers.
The bonuses are paid in October, but the declaration of this year’s payment has been marred by protests, with farmers demanding more money.
Some farmers have also started planting horticultural crops on their farms saying the ventures are more profitable than tea.
Mr Gideon Mutwiri, a farmer who delivers his leaves to Imenti Tea Factory in Imenti South, said last season he cleared an eighth of an acre and planted ginger, which earned him Sh300,000. “Tea is no longer profitable and that’s why we are uprooting the bushes. I harvested one tonne of ginger and sold each kilo at Sh300. This season I am planting pepper and vegetables.”
He said KTDA’s announcement that it would not import fertiliser this year on behalf of farmers was likely to worsen the situation. But it is the experience of his neighbour, Mr Samuel Murithi, that paints a grim picture of farmers saddled in debt. When the bonuses are announced, farmers walk into their sacco societies and fill loan forms so that when the money is released, they top up the loans.
Mr Murithi said he took a loan of Sh200,000 four years ago, which accrued to over Sh300,000 as he topped up each year.
“That time we got a bonus of Sh45 per kilo and I took the loan anticipating that the pay would be better the following year, but it went down. I topped up for two years, but last year the bonuses could not pay all the debt “.
“The loan accumulated and since last year, my bonus was not enough to repay. My guarantors’ accounts were frozen. I had to sell a piece of land and pay the debt to enable them to access their money,” he said.
This year with the bonus set to be paid at Sh28 a kilo, he expects to receive Sh28,000 from his 1,000 kilos.
Source: Nation Media
