The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) is seeking to reduce cost associated with tea processing in its allied factories in a bid to increase earnings to smallholder farmers.
The agency has entered into a pact with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to explore and research more on the use of gasification in powering tea processing in all its allied factories.
A team from UNIDO on a visit to Kiru tea factory in Mathioya Constituency held consultations with KTDA board, where it was established the processing of tea using firewood has become expensive and also led to degradation of the environment caused by increasing cutting down of trees.
KTDA Holdings Chairman Chege Kirundi lauded the pact with UNIDO saying new ways of conserving the environment and use of alternative sources of energy will be developed so as to support processing of tea in a cost-effective manner.
Use of gasification which is from biomass of tea waste to run tea factories, Kirundi said is the way to go as this will reduce over reliance on wood as fuel in processing of tea.
Kirundi said leadership in the tea sector over the years have been exploring better ways to increase production at the reduced cost.
“Through the engagement with the researchers under UNIDO there is a light at the end of the tunnel as pruning of the tea bushes and other plants in the farm can be of major importance in generation of gas to power tea processing,” said Kirundi, also the chairman at Kiru tea factory.
The factories use wood fuel bought from the tea farmers and gotten from tree plantations after the factories stopped using furnace oil to run the boilers.
The UNIDO team led by Darti Shah and Karen Taylor said they will be working with the tea directors to reduce cost of production by 10pc through a programme dubbed Accelerating Climate Innovation technology.
The team, which was composed of members from Indonesia, Canada, Nigeria, Britain and Brazil said they are working on educating the people on use of clean energy, at reduced cost.
The researchers underscored use of gasification in the factories saying the biomass is converted from tea pruning and farm waste that can be used in running of the tea boilers to ensure trees are spared of being used as source of fuel in the factories.
“Waste can be used in a prudent way to be useful in tea production and reduce the cost of production, and increase returns to the smallholder tea growers,” said Darti.
She added that clean energy has several advantages, especially in conserving the environment, asking all players in the tea sector to embrace innovations which are aimed to mitigate climate change.
