A smallholder tea farmers company has poked holes in the Tea Industry Regulations, 2020, citing some of them as unconstitutional.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya released the regulations last week and gave stakeholders 14 days within which to present their views.
In a brief that will be presented to the ministry, Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) dismisses some the rules, terming them unconstitutional and punitive.
KTDA says the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has been given too much power that will result in bureaucratic tendencies, thus stifling the sector’s growth.
Rule 10 (7) requires a factory to have 250 hectares of planted tea before renewal of their licences—a requirement KTDA says will pose challenges to factories.
The rule, KTDA said, “implies that farmers must give up land to the factory. This is unconstitutional since it interferes with an individual’s right to own property.”
