This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
Published on October 17, 2019, a bill seeking to reintroduce guaranteed minimum prices (GMP) for tea and coffee farmers has been tabled in the Kenyan Parliament.
The Guaranteed Minimum Returns Schemes, which factor in production costs plus a margin for farmers, were abolished in Kenya in the 1980s as the State opted for input subsidies.
Under the proposed scheme, farmers would receive subsidies when market prices fall below a set threshold, motivating them to retain loss-prone farming ventures.
Kangema MP Muturi Kigano tabled a notice of motion, which if adopted, would see the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority (AFA) set the Guaranteed Minimum Returns Schemes for farmers.
Tea farmers have been particularly affected, earning an average of Sh41.27 per kilogramme of green leaf delivered in the year to June, down from Sh52 received in the period to June 2018.
“The House resolves that to be able to insure and cushion farmers from any adverse effects and to be able to sustain and promote the growth of tea and coffee … Ministry of Agriculture though AFA do provide and prescribe for the guaranteed minimum returns for the farmers of tea, coffee and any crop as may be scheduled under the scheme,” reads the notice of motion.
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) attributed the low prices to a decline in international prices occasioned by a glut in the international market, increase in the cost of production and political turmoil in key markets.
