This archive report was first published on 18 August 2019.
On August 18, 2019, the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) expressed concerns over the unregulated registration of small-scale factories, which it claims is contributing to tea hawking affecting operations of most affiliated factories.
According to KTDA, existing gaps in law regarding licensing of small-scale factories have contributed to thriving tea hawking, affecting operations of most of the 65 affiliated factories.
Under the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) tea regulations, to qualify for a license to start a new black CTC tea factory or orthodox tea, one must show they have at least 250 hectares under tea.
However, AFA has been considering licensing cottages for people with at least 20 hectares, operating on the low-volume, high-value principle.
KTDA operations director Alfred Njagi stated that if the provisions are not followed, the tea industry would follow in the steps of other poorly regulated sectors in the country.
Section 19 of the Crops Act 2013 stipulates that a factory shall not buy green leaf from any person other than the grower appearing in its register, while Section 14 of the same Act bars farmers from selling their tea to any party other than the factory they are registered in.
Mr. Njagi emphasized that these guidelines are meant to guard against unhealthy competition for green leaf, which has a detrimental effect on the business and farmers' income.
From 2014 up to September last year, 33 private factories were licensed by the Tea Directorate, with a capacity of producing 154 million kilos of tea in various counties.
However, Mr. Njagi noted that most of these factories have been licensed as cottage factories dealing with specialty teas but have installed black CTC tea processing lines, which contravenes their licenses.
KTDA has protested over plans by the Agriculture and Food Authority to license small-scale factories, saying this will lead to tea hawking.
