President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked players in the tea industry to respond to the needs of farmers to ensure that they do not abandon the cash crop and convert their farms into real estates. Speaking at the East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) at the Coast on Tuesday, the President said tea was such an important crop that the country could not afford to lose. He gave an example of coffee, which he said most farmers had given up on and had resorted to uprooting their bushes and engaging in other economic 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 areas for construction of apartments or shopping malls,” Mr Kenyatta said. Kiambu County is one of the regions where farmers have been selling off their coffee farms to be converted into housing estates.

Counties like Murang’a, Meru, Kirinyaga and Kiambu in the Mt Kenya region are among those that have been hit by the decline in coffee prices, prompting many farmers to abandon the crop. Exploitation has been blamed for the trend that has led to the crisis facing the brant sector. The only way the industry can stop farmers from doing this was to ensure they also benefitted from the proceeds of the crop, the President said, adding that his government would not want to see a situation where tea production declines because farmers are frustrated. 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. “I don’t think this would serve you well. Neither does it serve the country because tea is one of our major export earners. 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 said. He said that farmers would be receptive of ideas if they were made aware of the benefits.

PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY

The President also asked EATTA to speed up the 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 $1.3 million and we are in talks with Trade Mark East Africa which has agreed to come on board so that we move on with the process next year,” he said. Mr Munyi noted that when farmers were losing faith with the crop in 2014 as tea prices averaged $80 per kilo, the President held a crisis meeting with players in the sector.

Last year, prices averaged $278 a kilo and 358 million kilos were sold, earning the sector Sh10 billion. The President asked the association to ensure that automation is completed this year, saying the move would benefit farmers as well as 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 showcase while you held meetings at night to strike deals. Automation will go a long way to dispel some of the issues that people have,” the President said.
Source: Daily Nation

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