Kakamega County Government is set to resume the construction of the Madala Tea Factory in Shinyalu Sub County.
Speaking during the Small Micro-Enterprises (SME) expo at Bukhungu Stadium Parking lot, Deputy Governor Ayub Savula said that the county government has allocated Sh700million for the construction and operationalization of the tea factory.
He said Governor Fernandes Barasa will launch the construction of the factory in the second week of December this year.
The Commencement of the construction will be a relief to tea farmers who have been waiting eagerly for completion of the factory which was initiated in 2016 by former Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who is now the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Co-operatives and MSMEs Development.
The factory was expected to be completed by July 2022 but the construction faced hurdles including being slowed down by the Covid 19 pandemic and the electioneering period affecting the pace of construction.
The county government has been actively distributing tea seedlings to increase the number of farmers who grow tea to be able to support the tea factory once it’s up and running.
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) board member and Director Zone 12, Abungana Khasiani, while in Kakamega, said that to sustain the operation of a tea factory, the county will need to produce at least 5million kilos of tea leaves per year.
He urged tea farmers in Kakamega County to increase production of tea leaves from 3million kilos to be able to support the upcoming factory.
In May, Governor Barasa distributed over 400 000 tea seedlings to farmers in the county to support tea growing in readiness for the Madala Tea Factory.
According to a 2020 report by the Kakamega County Investment and Development Agency (KCIDA), Kakamega had 626.5 Hectares of land under tea cultivation producing 4322.85 tons of tea leaves per year.
By Moses Wekesa