Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Peter Munya has retaliated that the implementation of the ongoing tea reforms will not stop until sanity is restored in the sector.
Speaking in Nyamira on Thursday, Munya noted that the government had sacrificed a lot to bring the changes and that there was no way it could retreat.
He said that the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) had been mismanaged and taken over by cartels that turned small growers into beggars.
“The cartels which had many tentacles had almost ruined the good crop; they had also gained control in our judicial system,” Munya said.
He said the market of Kenyan tea had been controlled by the same cartels who did not want the farmer to gain from their sweat.
“The price deteriorated because of dirty deals in the sector. We have since streamlined the sector and soon we will start enjoying the fruits,” said Munya.
Munya said that they introduced a reserve price system where if the market is not favorable for the crop, Kenya does not have to sell her produce at a loss.
He said that this has helped control the price of tea and already the yields have been realized.
“Since we introduced the reserve price, we no longer sell our tea at losses nor to middlemen. I can authoritatively tell farmers that from next year, our bonuses will be better that ever,” he said.
“The reforms are for the benefit of the farmers and we are determined to deliver,” said Munya.
The CS also said the government was considering the reduction of factory maintenance funds so that farmers can benefit further from the crop.
Also, tea will be managed by the Tea Board of Kenya which will regulate the sale of the produce.
In 2021 bonuses, farmers received their worst ever bonus with most factories paying their farmers below Kshs. 10.
Munya was accompanied by Nyamira senator Erick Okong’o and The commodities Fund chairperson and former Kitutu Masaba MP Mwancha Okioma.
The CS is in Nyamira for a two day tour where he will be meeting farmers in the six tea factories. In his tour he will sensitize them on the new tea reforms.
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