Tea growers from Kanyenyaini in Kangema Constituency, Murang’a County want payments for their produce increased from Sh15 to Sh30 per kilo and the bonus increased from Sh48 to Sh80 per kilo.
The farmers have threatened to look for new markets if the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) will not meet their demands.
The farmers said they have remained paupers after taking their produce to KTDA for years while private buyers have been buying the green leaf tea at Sh22 per kilo.
They also said that the neighbouring Kiru Tea Factory has proposed to increase the payments from Sh15 to Sh25 per kilogramme of green leaf.
NOT ENOUGH
Speaking at Karurumo shopping centre on Sunday when they met to deliberate on the challenges affecting them, the farmers said they are only left with Sh1.50 per kilo after deductions which is not enough to cater for their families and the education of their children.
“Enough is enough; we want to put KTDA on notice that they must double the payments failure to which we shall seek for a new market,” James Wambugu, a farmer, said.
Mr Wambugu accused KTDA of using farmers’ money to file court cases against the private buyers without consulting them, saying it is the farmers who pay the legal fees.
“KTDA has no tea so when they file the unending court cases against their rivals, it is farmers who pay for the lawyers’ fees and that’s why we will continue receiving meagre payments,” Mr Wambugu said.
When contacted for comment, Zone Two KTDA board member Francis Macharia said it is too early to determine what tea farmers would be paid, adding that the bonus payments will be known next month.
“Their demands are neither here nor there; what will be paid to them will be known after we know the cost, turnovers and the investments by KTDA,” Mr Macharia said.
BONUS DECREASE
But Mr Wambugu said they had received information from one of the directors alluding that the bonus payments would decrease.
On his part, Arthur Gitundu, a farmer, urged local leaders to draft a Bill and present it to Parliament abolishing the share-based voting system and replacing it with one-man one-vote system, saying that voting based on one’s shares has locked out small-scale farmers, denying them an opportunity to serve in the management of factories.
“Share-based voting system has given the rich farmers control over the management of factories locking small scale farmers out while giving the rich an opportunity of dominating in the management over the years with no changes. Our leaders should draft a Bill so that every farmer can vie for the directorship,” Mr Gitundu said.
Mr Gitundu said KTDA imposed the green leaf agreement on farmers which he claimed was sneaked in during the issuance of fertiliser whereby for a farmer to receive the fertiliser, they were required to sign the document without being taken through its contents.
“They sneaked in the agreement that denied farmers their rights to sell their tea to their preferred factory. We shall not honour the agreement until public participation is conducted for us to understand it better. One can’t impose ideas on farmers who have no knowledge and information,” he said.