KTDA to pay small-scale tea farmers on fifth day of month
Lorries deliver green leaf at Gathuthi tea factory, Nyeri, on September 4, 2020. Auction prices have improved.
Small-scale farmers will receive their pay in the first week of the month in an effort by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to end hawking.
Company secretary, Patrick Ngunjiri, said delayed monthly pay and low returns have pushed farmers into hawking.
The sale of green leaf at farm gate prices to independent processors is prevalent in Kericho and parts of central Kenya.
“Changing payment dates is part of the reforms being implemented by the new KTDA Board. It will streamline activities in the industry,” Mr Ngunjiri said at Gathuthi tea factory during its annual general meeting.
In the previous KTDA management, farmers would receive payment for green leaf delivered to factories in the third week of the month.
Mr Ngunjiri said payment would be on the fifth day of the month and not the 25th as has been the case.
He added that the Mombasa auction is doing well, with tea prices shooting to Sh360 per kilo.
Mr Ngunjiri said the improved prices would address problems driving farmers into hawking their produce.
“Hawking compromises quality and denies farmers a steady monthly income. It also exploits the farmer,” he said.
KTDA insists on farmers picking two leaves and a bud to ensure quality, a standard that is never observed by private processors.
He added that hawking denies farmers a chance to price discovery at the auction.
At least 600,000 farmers affiliated to the agency were paid Sh2 billion for green leaf delivered in November, Mr Ngunjiri said.
Kenya Smallholder Tea Growers Association chairman, John Nteere said payment at the beginning of the month is the right thing to do, adding that increasing the payout per kilo would eradicate hawking.
