President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked players in the tea industry to respond to the needs and aspirations of farmers to avoid a situation where farmers give up and convert their farms into real estates and shopping malls. Speaking at the East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) on Tuesday, the President said tea was such an important crop the country could not afford to lose. The President gave an example of coffee that most farmers had given up on, uprooting their crops and engaging in other activities.

“We are living in an environment where farmers have options as what to do with their land and that would be a huge mistake if we were to say, because of pricing, prime agricultural or tea land was converted into apartments or shopping malls,” he said. Mr Kenyatta said the only way the industry would stop farmers from doing this was to ensure the farmer also benefitted from the proceeds of the crop, adding that his government would not want to see a situation where tea production declines due to farmer frustration.

LOW TEA PRICES

He recalled a crisis meeting he held with EATTA in 2014 when tea prices were low, saying that many farmers were on the verge of giving up on tea farming. “I don’t think this would serve you well neither does it serve the country because tea is one of our major export earner. “I also would appeal to you to be considerate of the farmer to see how we can work together and diversify markets and production,” he added. He noted that since most of the farmers were rigid and traditional, it called for understanding from players in the sector and that farmers would be receptive of ideas if they were made aware of the benefits. The President asked EATTA to fast-track automation of the auction to promote transparency among the players.

Earlier during his address, EATTA chairman Nick Munyi told the President that the association had plans to automate the process of selling tea at one of the largest tea markets in the world. “We have engaged a consultant and we have agreed that is the way to go. The project will cost about US$1.3 million and we are in talks Trade Mark East Africa which has agreed to come on board so that we move on with the process next year,” he said. He noted that when farmers were losing faith with the crop in 2014 when tea prices averaged at $80, the President held a crisis meeting with players in the sector. Last year,

prices averaged $278 a kilo with 358 million kilos being sold, earning Sh10 billion. But the President asked the association to ensure automation was done this year, saying it would be in the benefit of farmers and the economy. “The perception out there is that this is a house of collusion. People believe that you people come here in the morning to show while you held meetings at night to strike deals. Automation will go a long way to dispel some of the issues that people have,” he said. The auction sells tea from other countries in the region including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia.

Source: Daily Nation

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