Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has convened a meeting of Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) directors this Wednesday.
The meeting, Gachagua stated, will deliberate on ways of entrenching reforms in the tea subsector among other issues.
“The reforms I have been pushing are bearing fruits. I will meet with the directors from across the country to agree on the way forward in firming up and sustaining the reforms,” he said.
The second and final bonus payout rates will also be declared during the day.
Directors from the 54 KTDA-managed tea factories across the county have been meeting to review and approve the audited financial accounts for the year ending June 2023.
Farmers are set to earn up to Sh55 per kilo with the low performers getting Sh30 per kilo of the total green leaves delivered until June this year.
This is an increase from the previous earnings.
Gachagua has expressed satisfaction that the reforms he has been pushing alongside MPs, Governors, and other stakeholders have yielded fruits.
The ongoing reforms that commenced after the July Tea Conference in Kericho County, he stated, will not stop until the farmers earn what they deserve.
After the Conference in Kericho, the DP has been engaging various stakeholders in the tea subsector for collective decisions on institutionalizing the reforms through legal, policy, and regulative measures.
The Deputy President further maintained that the Ruto Administration remains focused on delivering reforms in tea, coffee, dairy, and other subsectors of agriculture.
This, he said, will see farmers earn what they deserve through, among other interventions, the removal of cartels and brokers from the value chains.