The government has intensified its efforts to restore order in the tea industry by introducing stringent measures aimed at regulating tea producers and factories across the country.
In a directive issued by the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK), the hawking of green leaf and roadside collection—practices that have become widespread in tea-growing areas—have been banned.
“All tea factories and producers are hereby cautioned against engaging in green leaf hawking, collection of green along the roadside where there are no collection centres, using green brokers and using leaf collection vehicles that are not registered with the Board,” said TBK Chief Executive Officer Willy Mutai in a circular.
According to Mutai, these measures are part of ongoing reforms in the sector to ensure sustainability and profitability. The reforms also target improving the quality of green leaf processed by tea factories to secure better prices and higher returns for tea farmers and investors.
“To actualise this milestone, the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture has issued a directive to tea producers and factories, banning green leaf malpractice and other irregularities involving tea factories, producers, green leaf brokers, and errant tea growers,” Mutai stated.
Tea hawking, where farmers sell their green leaf to factories other than the ones they are registered with, is illegal under the Tea Act of 2020.
The influx of private tea factories has exacerbated this practice, with some farmers opting to sell their produce to the highest bidder. However, TBK warns that this trend has significantly compromised tea quality, leading to lower earnings for farmers.
Recently, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing far-reaching reforms to ensure better incomes for tea farmers.
Among these measures is the gazettement of green leaf quality standard guidelines, aimed at preventing the harvesting and processing of substandard tea.
Additionally, the government plans to gazette the Tea Regulations to fully operationalise the Tea Act, 2020.
