A tea farmer in Gesaiga-Nyamira county has moved to embrace a new tea variety farming in the region. The purple tea which is a product of the Kenya Tea Research Institute (KTRI) and is officially known as the TRFK 306 is a variety originating from the Mt. Kenya slopes.
Mr. Oboso Steven Ken has said that he decided to venture into purple tea farming due to the high market demand. Speaking from his home in Gesaiga where he is intends to plant 10,000 seedlings of the clone, Oboso has encouraged Kenyans intending to venture into tea farming to consider the variety.
"The global market demand for this variety is high; purple tea is the way to go in tea farming," Oboso said.
According to KTRI, purple tea has a lot of advantages to the farmers and consumers. TRFK 306 is also said to have qualities such as drought resistant.
"I encourage other farmers to join in since the product has been proven to be viable in this region due to its adaptability," the farmer said.
Mr. Oboso on Thursday evening after getting the seedlings from Kebirigo Tea Factory Nursery said that the planting exercise was to start immediately so as to take advantage of the current rains.
Despite Kenya being the third largest tea producer globally after China and India, a vast majority of tea farmers in the highlands produce cheap black tea for a discount. The Kenya Tea Research Institute is therefore set to empower small-scale farmers to help them gain an advantage in the much competitive global tea market.