Tea Farmers Urge the Government to Fund KTDA-MS

Kirinyaga’s smallholder tea manufacturers have urged the government to find other sources of finance for the Kenya Tea Development Agency Management Services (KTDA-MS) and comparable organizations rather than taxing farmers.

Factory owners expressed their displeasure with Section 53 (1) (2) of the Tea Act 2020, which charges farmers 1% of the net sales price of tea.

They argued that the provision would have a negative impact on farmers’ income. They requested the government to reconsider the disputed provisions in light of its Bottom-up economic strategy, which gives low-income members of the public more authority.

The board decided to keep factory management agreements with KTDA-MS in their current form until disputed provisions of the Tea Act 2020 are resolved.

Farmers will suffer if the contested terms are implemented, according to John Mithamo, the agency’s spokesperson and a member of the zone’s KTDA board, who was speaking during a meeting with the agency in Sagana.

They will suffer if the contested terms are implemented, according to John Mithamo, the agency’s spokesperson and a member of the zone’s KTDA board, who was speaking during a meeting with the agency in Sagana.

According to Mithamo, if 1% of farmers’ sales were diverted to other parties, they would lose out on dividend payments from the agency to industries and risk having their money subjected to needless procedural administration.

He questioned why these fees were being imposed primarily on tea growers.

The directors of the tea factory have given a select team from Kirinyaga seven working days to review the present management agreement with KTDA-MS, make the required revisions, and submit it to the agency for future engagements.

According to David Ichoho, chairman of KTDA Holdings, the organization sent farmers dividend payments totaling Sh585 million, which came from its subsidiary revenue.

To date, forty manufacturers from various regions of the nation have inked management agreements with KTDA-MS in an effort to strengthen ties and ensure that farmers receive a higher price for their products.

The management fee was reduced from 2.5 percent per gross turnover to 1.5 percent, which is a significant adjustment in the new management agreements.

The agency has implemented key performance indicators under the reviewed treaty to assess performance continuously.