- In January, KTDA disbursed Sh5.5 billion which included Sh2.8 billion as payment for December green leaf deliveries.
- The payment saw farmers earn between Sh5 and Sh10 per kilo.
Image: FILE:
The Kenya Tea Development Agency is Wednesday (today) expected to declare the second and final payout commonly referred to as bonus for green leaves delivered to its tea factories.
This follows the conclusion of the board meetings by respective factory directors meant to review and approve the audited financial accounts.
Reports indicate that farmers are set to earn up to Sh55 per kilo with low performers getting Sh30 per kilo of the total green leaves delivered until June this year, an increase from the previous earnings.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has convened a meeting of factory directors and other tea stakeholders in Nairobi where the pay is set to be announced.
In January, KTDA disbursed Sh5.5 billion which included Sh2.8 billion as payment for December green leaf deliveries and Sh2.7 billion as mini-bonus.
The payment saw farmers earn between Sh5 and Sh10 per kilo.
Farmers supplying their green leaves to KTDA-managed factories get a monthly pay at the rate of Sh20, a mini bonus which is the first payout and the final bonus.
Tea volumes delivered until June 2023 dropped by 8.5 per cent to 1.1 billion kilos down as compared to 1.3 billion kilos delivered in 2022 with prices at the auction also dropping from Sh409 to Sh394.
Today’s meeting 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,” Gachagua said on Sunday.
He 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, he said, will not stop until the farmers earn what they deserve.
After the Conference, 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.