Kenya: New Tea Sector Rules Set to Ruffle Feathers
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The Nation (Nairobi)
26 August 2008
Posted to the web 27 August 2008
Gitonga Marete
Nairobi
The Government will soon introduce regulations in the tea sector, including tea auctions, to ensure that farmers' earnings are commensurate with their input in the production of the crop.
The decision, however, is likely to touch a raw nerve in the secretive industry which has over the years been accused of raking in billions of shillings for tea traders at the expense of the farmer.
Making the announcement on Tuesday, Agriculture assistant minister Gideon Ndambuki noted that there was a huge disparity between the price fetched at the tea auction and the money the farmer eventually gets.
Same route
"If tea goes for US$3 per kilo (about Sh200), it is not clear why the farmer gets only Sh7 for the same," Mr Ndambuki said.
"We want to have a system that will make sure that the farmer benefits from his tea," he said.
Fellow assistant minister Japhet Mbiuki said the Government was not trying to interfere with the auction, but was only trying to understand the goings-on in the sector, especially the auction "with a view to ensuring that tea does not follow the same route as coffee".
"Some farmers in the tea-growing areas have been frustrated to the extent of uprooting their trees, which does not augur well for the sector," he said.
"When you hear that farmers are moving away from tea farming, you have reason to be very concerned," Mr Mbiuki said.
Weekly auction
The two assistant ministers were speaking to buyers and brokers at the East Africa Tea Trade Association where they witnessed a session of the weekly auction.
Although Mr Ndambuki did not specify which aspects of the tea auction would be affected by the new regulations, the changes are bound to ruffle feathers in the management of the sector where brokers and buyers have often been accused of exploiting farmers.
He urged players involved in the Mombasa tea auction to cooperate with the Government in coming up with regulations that would cater for all interested parties.
He said there was need for value addition to be done in the country so that tea could earn more revenue.
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"We are told that value addition in the country is expensive but we want to know how we can do it here," he said.
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