The National Assembly having passed the Tea Bill, which will see the revival of Tea Board of Kenya and The Tea Research Foundation, which used to carry out research on the sector, all eyes are now on the Senate.
The government made amendments to the Tea Bill 2018, sponsored by Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot to pass the Tea Regulations 2020.
The move seeks to facilitate prompt licensing of tea brokers and marketing of tea produce, making this activity more efficient and effective.
The formation of the Tea Board of Kenya is seen as a sanitization process to rid the sector off brokers and cartels who have continued to deny farmers their true yields from tea production.
The new provisions contained in the bill will allow for the prompt payment of farmers for tea delivered in factories.
The passage of the bill is expected to also mark a big win for Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya whose attempt to bring reforms to the sector through regulations has become frustrated after opposition from players including Counties and the KTDA leadership.
Deputy President William Ruto and the Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga had appealed to senators across the political divide to come through for the beleaguered tea farmers.
“Fixing the tea sector is a critical step to putting the country on a path of economic recovery through agriculture,” Raila said.
Raila said the Tea Bill is critical to ensuring the financial security of the farmers.
“The Bill will ensure that tea auction organizers, buyers and brokers pay farmers within 14days from the proceeds of the sale of tea”. He added.
According to the Deputy President, the bill would go a long way in addressing the challenges facing the majority of the small scale farmers by favoring 90 per cent of small scale farmers as it seeks to strengthen tea management in the country.
“I urge all our MPs to pass the bill as it addresses the most pertinent issues among the marketing, auction, unnecessary fluctuation of prices. The passage of the bill will also ensure that more money will go farmers and not brokers.” William Ruto said.
Therefore, once various stakeholders approve the regulations, it will be illegal to sell tea via private treaty, commonly known as Direct Sales Overseas. Additionally, any teas not sold during a particular auction shall be re-listed for sale during the subsequent auction.
Furthermore, factories will be mandated to pay farmers 30 days after receiving the auction proceeds.
The new regulations may also lessen the grip of KTDA on the sector, seeing that previously, KTDA factories used to pay farmers KSh14 to KSh16 per kilogram of tea per month, with the rest paid as a bonus in October.
Kenya is the world’s largest black tea exporter. The reports show that in 2019, the tea sector earned the country KSh117 billion from exports, and KSh22 billion in local sales.
