Kenya to promote value addition of tea

Kenya's agricultural officials said on Monday it plans to promote value addition in the tea sector.

Chairman of the Tea Industry Task Force Kagiri Kamatu told journalists in Nairobi that most of Kenya's tea is exported in semi-processed form, which denies the country jobs and foreign exchange revenue.

"Kenya needs to promote value addition with emphasis on the establishment of cottage industries and promotion of local entrepreneurship in the tea business," Kamatu said when he presented the Tea Industry Stakeholder Taskforce Report to the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Willy Bett.

Kamatu said that in order to increase earnings of the tea sector, the government needs to introduce and give incentives to farmers in order to facilitate cottage tea manufacture as well as the marketing of high value specialty teas.

The ministry of agriculture in August 2015 constituted a multi tea industry stakeholder to look into the sustainability of the tea industry with a view to improving returns to tea farmers.

According to government data, the tea industry plays a key role in the economic development in the country because it specifically supports over 700,000 tea growers and their families in 18 tea growing counties.

The chairman said that in order to boost the tea sector, Kenya should implement a productivity improvement program instead of a price stabilization fund.

"The program should focus on supporting vulnerable tea growers to uproot their old teas and replant with the new higher yielding clones in order to improve productivity and incomes," he added.

Kamatu observed that overall the tea industry has witnessed tremendous growth in the last decade and is currently the leading foreign exchange earner and the leading exporter of tea globally. Enditem