Murang'a tea farmers during the ground breaking ceremony of Kiriti tea factory on Tuesday. [Photo/NMG]
Tea farmers in Murang'a county have started building a sh130 million tea factory to compete with Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).Chairman John Kihara said the Kiriti Tea factory will be build in Kagongo."We have received a lot of support from farmers in Kangema Sub-county and especially Kagongo Location. This is why we have decided to set up the factory in the location," Kihara said on Tuesday during the ground breaking ceremony.He said that Kangema sub-county has over 600 acres of tea which is enough to run a factory. Kihara said that they had decided to build a factory due to numerous fights with KTDA."Our farmers who supply their tea to Mutungu buying centre were forced to sell to private factories in Kiambu after their contracts with KTDA were cancelled," Kihara said.Chairman said that the factory will be run by a 13 member management committee, and its equipment is being imported from China since they already have an operating licence from Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Authority.