Farmers affiliated to Nyansiongo Tea Factory in Nyamira County are asking the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to refund them money contributed to construct a satellite factory in the area.
The over 12,000 small scale and large scale tea farmers have been contributing three shillings per kilo of green leafs delivered since 2011, but the project had been called off due to failure by the farmers to agree on the site for the construction after raising over 140 million shilling cumulatively.
Speaking to the press in Nyamira on Monday, Patrick Osero, a farmer, said that the intention of the new project was to decongest the existing factory in Borabu Sub-County.
He said that KTDA also was to source for a strategic partner to raise the required amount for putting up the factory but a stalemate ensued pitting farmers from Kitutu -Masaba and West- Mugirango Constituency over the factory site.
Kitutu Masaba farmers preferred Matunwa area while those from West Mugirango rooted for Nyamiranga area.
“KTDA cancelled the project due to the acrimony, and decided to convert the farmers’ monthly contribution into company shares without their consent,” said Osero.
He said that if the plans for the new factory could not be realised, then it was prudent for KTDA to refund the farmers in cash rather than converting the money into shareholding, appealing to the government to step in and resolve the row at the Nyansiongo Tea Factory to save the company from collapsing.
Area MPs, Timothy Bosire (Kitutu Masaba), James Gesami (West Mugirango), and Ben Momanyi (Borabu) had already promised to engage a consultant to investigate issues affecting the factory.