Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has directed tea factories to reject substandard tea delivered by farmers across the country.
He warned that when poor-quality leaf from a few farmers is mixed and processed together with good-quality leaf delivered by compliant farmers, the entire factory’s tea is downgraded and everybody receives a lower price.
“If we have agreed that quality tea is two leaves and a bud, then that is what must come to the factory. We cannot have farmers who are doing the right thing being punished because a few others bring poor-quality leaf which is then processed together with theirs,” said Kagwe.
He cited Momul Tea Factory as an example of the financial rewards that can come from improving green-leaf quality.
The factory had previously been receiving around $2 per kilogramme for its tea, but after deliberately improving quality, its tea was now fetching more than $3 per kilogramme.
This comes as the government rolls out a Ksh 7.1 billion factory modernisation drive aimed at increasing tea quality, cutting production costs and putting more money into farmers’ pockets.
Kagwe said the massive investment in modern machinery must be matched by an equally aggressive improvement in the quality of tea delivered by farmers, warning that Kenya cannot modernise factories only to process substandard green leaf that attracts lower prices in the international market.
The CS said the Government’s strategy is to create a new cycle of growth in the tea industry: modern factories, better-quality green leaf, higher-value orthodox and specialty teas, stronger value addition and, ultimately, diversification into more international markets.
Once Kenya improves both production efficiency and quality, Kagwe said the country must aggressively seek additional markets so that increased volumes of premium Kenyan tea translate into higher prices and better bonuses for farmers.
He was speaking at Kapsara Tea Factory, where he handed over Ksh 44.6 million for the installation of a new withering plant.
