This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On World Food Day, October 17, 2019, ten Members of Bomet County Assembly led by Rongena ward Representative Mr. Samwel Keter addressed the press in Bomet town, calling for government intervention in the tea sector.
The MCAs lamented that small-scale tea farmers were being exploited by cartels in the industry, particularly by the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) managed factories.
They claimed that the KTDA's management levy was exorbitant and expensive, taking a large amount of farmers' money.
The leaders also expressed concern over the low pay to tea farmers, citing the recent meeting of tea farmers with members of the National Assembly Committee on Agriculture, chaired by Mandera South Member of Parliament Mr. Ali Adan, at Mogogosiek tea factory last Monday.
They pointed out that their inputs were not accommodated during the meeting, and that the government's regulating body, Tea Board of Kenya (TBK), should be at the forefront in the investigations.
“Tea farmers are living in abject poverty whereas KTDA staff are swinging in huge salaries and driving expensive cars and if the government was serious, it was the KTDA employees who should get huge salary cut and not farmers in case of tea price falling in the world market,” Keter said.
The leaders appealed to the national government and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to launch investigations into the cause of low price pay in the tea sector and what was happening to the insurance fund which was to cushion farmers.
They also called for the Agency to be audited and investigated by multi-sector agencies to bring to book all those involved in sabotaging the small-scale tea farmers.
