Tea farmers take their tea leaves to Masaku tea buying centers in Kitutu Chache South Kisii County. [Sammy Omingo,Standard]
The Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) has banned green leaf hawking and roadside collections following an increase in cases of the vices in most tea-growing regions of the country.
The move comes days after Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the government is implementing a raft of measures to ensure better returns for farmers.
Speaking during a Senate plenary session on a wide range of issues in the agriculture sector, the CS said key among them is curbing tea hawking malpractices, which have been blamed for the processing of low-quality tea leaves.
And TBK Chief Executive Willy Mutai, in a circular dated March 18, cautioned tea factories and producers against engaging in green leaf hawking and the collection of green leaf along the roadside. “To actualise the above milestone, the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development has issued a directive to producers/factories and has banned green leaf hawking malpractice and other forms of malpractice perpetrated by the tea factories/producers, green leaf brokers, and errant tea growers,” said Mr Mutai in the circular.
“The use of unregistered vehicles to transport the green leaf remains an offence.”
The circular came as farmers affiliated with the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA)-managed Boito Tea Factory in Konoin Sub-County threatened to boycott tea picking over disparities in prices of tea at the Mombasa Auction. Bernard Sang, the factory chairman, accused brokers at the auction of pricing tea from the West of Rift region poorly despite efforts to improve the quality of their tea.
“We have heard complaints from Mombasa and Nairobi saying that the West is not producing the best quality tea,” he said.
“Every week, in the tea sales report, Boito Factory is ranked around 69 or 70. We have done everything possible to improve quality, yet we still struggle, added Mr Sang.
In December 2023, TBK raised the alarm over the proliferation of the hawking of green leaf in tea-growing zones across the country.
The regulator ordered the installation of trackers on all vehicles transporting green leaf.
Ngere Tea Factory Chairman James Githinji said the factory directors have been holding seminars for farmers to enlighten them on the dangers of tea hawking.
“If the problem is not tackled, the tea factories built with farmers’ resources will be at great risk,” said Mr Githinji.
