After the release of tea bonus figures showing that farmers in Nyamira County will take home between Sh14 and Sh19 per kg of their produce, a section of residents have now vowed to ditch tea farming.
Speaking in Gesima, farmers led by aspiring Nyansiongo director Kepha Omariba accused factories’ management teams in the region of massive corruption, which they said had led to the dismal earnings.
They threatened to abandon tea cultivation and embrace farming activities that can boost their incomes.
“Factory management teams in Nyamira are involved in massive corruption and why we want all farmers to ditch tea farming in favour of other crops that can empower them economically,” Omariba said.
They demanded that management teams at the five factories in the region explain why some factories in Central Kenya were paying their farmers up to Sh38 per kilo, while they continue to earn a pittance.
“All the management teams in the Gusii region should explain to us why central Kenya is paying farmers highly yet we sell tea in the same market. There is something fishy here and that is why the only solution is to quit,” he said.
However, Nyansiongo Tea Factory director Rachael Orina defended the managers, and blamed the meager returns on poor international prices.
“It’s true that the pay is little but it’s not true that we sell our products in the same market. Our produce is not doing well in the global market, but we hope things will change for the better,” she said.