Deputy President President Rigathi Gachagua has said tea farmers will get a higher bonus from their harvest this year.
The Deputy President said this is just the beginning and that farmers will keep reaping bonuses from their produce.
"The pay will be one of the highest in recent years, signifying the importance of stakeholder engagement in the bid to reform the sector," Gachagua said.
He credited the bonus to the comprehensive reforms the government is rolling out in the Tea sub-sector which he said are bearing fruit.
The Deputy President spoke on Wednesday while holding a meeting with Kenya Tea Development Agency directors at his official Karen Residence.
He said lauded the directors for remaining focused, determined, and open to engagement in order to improve farmers' welfare.
The DP said the higher bonus is a notable positive outcome from the Tea Subsector stakeholders’ Conference he chaired in Kericho in July this year.
Gachagua said the July conference provided a much-needed platform to listen to the farmers' concerns and agree on the best interventions to improve their earnings.
He said the government will not relent until the smallholder farmers get their rightful pay that's commensurate with the hard work they put into their farms.
"President William Ruto is keen on better earnings and has mandated me with instituting long-term reforms in the subsector. This is because a stable and profitable Tea sub-sector is good for our country as it is one of the leading foreign exchange earners," the Deputy President said.
Gachagua said this year, as the government fully rolls out the reforms, they project the tea export earnings to rise to about Sh150 billion up from Sh138 billion last year.
"We can do better; the factories should diversify and explore Orthodox tea production which fetches higher earnings in international markets," he said.
Following the meeting with KTDA directors, the Agency is expected to declare the second and final payout commonly referred to as a bonus for green leaves delivered to its tea factories.
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.
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.
