Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has asked the new Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) directors to fast-track implementation of tea sector reforms to put more money into the pocket of farmers.

Speaking when he closed the induction workshop of the directors, who were elected and re-elected recently, Gachagua said the farmer has high expectations, hence the need to turn-around the subsector to profitability.

Key among his asks was cutting down on the cost of production and expenses of running the factories for the famer to earn more money.

“The tea farmer has suffered for far too long. They have broken their backs. You must feel for the farmer. You must set your targets. Let the farmer say they made the right decision electing you at the end of your tenure and they re-elect you,” the Deputy President said.

The Deputy President has been leading agriculture sector reforms, as assigned by President William Ruto with the aim of revistalising key sub-sectors including tea, coffee, dairy, avocado, among others.

The Deputy President convened a meeting in Kericho, in which farmers and other stakeholders developed a roadmap to implementation of the subsector reforms starting from production to marketing.

“Tea Reforms Conference held in Kericho in July 2023 was a first step in continuation of this conversation. Together with the farmers, we agreed on key resolutions on what needs to change to reform this subsector,” he said.

During this conference, farmers called for an end in creation of subsidiaries, which divert resources from the core mandate of KTDA in assisting the farmer make more money.

“There is no justification under the sun as to why KTDA has to continue maintaining loss making companies. It cannot be. We cannot continue burdening the farmer with the losses. KTDA’s core work is tea leaves, not real estate business. All loss-making subsidiaries must be shut down immediately. Let us stick to tea production business,” he said.

As part of the strategy of reducing the cost of running factories, the Deputy President asked the directors to use internal legal capacity.

“Why do you outsource legal services yet the factories have fully-fledged advocates of the high court paid monthly? The money the outsources lawyers ask for is unfathomable. It cannot be. Use or scrap the legal departments,” he said.

Further, the Deputy President asked the directors to deal with tea hawking, especially in the West of the Rift Valley factories, which he said has been the main cause of poor grades and low prices.

“Work with the National Government Administration Officers and the Counties in dealing with the tea hawking. Those involved in tea hawking must have their licenses revoked and they be surcharged,” he said.

Gachagua said KTDA must work with other actors in standardising processes for harvesting and handling of green leaf, curb tea hawking, establishment of a quality assurance framework, harmonized power tariffs between KTDA and Kenya Power and investment in Orthodox Processing.

Under marketing, he asked the directors to prioritise national branding of Kenyan tea, review of reserve price, timely payment to farmers and leverage on commercial diplomacy in Kenyan Missions abroad.

On the other hand he urged KTDA to diversify and increase sale of value-added tea from the current 1% to 40% by 2027 and appealed to the directors to improve corporate governance and fully implement the Tea Act.

The Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Andrew Karanja said it is the responsibility of the of KTDA to work with the Government to improve the earnings of the over 800,000 small-scale farmers as envisioned under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

He said the target is to raise the payment per kilo from the current average of Sh59 to over Sh90 by 2027.

He added that earnings from tea export must rise from the current Sh180 billion to over Sh 360 billion by 2027.

The Deputy President was accompanied by the Principals secretary for Agriculture Paul Rono, Mombasa Governor Sheriff Nassir, among other leaders.