Nairobi, Kenya – A storm is brewing in Kenya’s tea sector as smallholder farmers accuse the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) of shortchanging them despite record-breaking earnings.
While KTDA Holdings boasted revenues of Sh215 billion in the financial year ending June 2024 and issued its highest-ever dividend payout of Sh1.04 billion, bonuses to the very farmers driving the industry have plummeted dramatically. At Kiru Tea Factory, the second payment dropped from Sh51.10 to Sh32 per kilogram, a staggering 37 P.c decline. In parts of the Rift Valley, farmers are receiving as little as Sh10 per kilo, while counterparts east of the Rift enjoy up to Sh57.50 per kilogram.
The glaring disparities have sparked outrage. “How can earnings rise by Sh21.5 billion in a single year, yet our bonuses collapse? Someone is pocketing our sweat,” lamented Peter Mwangi, a farmer from Murang’a.
KTDA Chairman Geoffrey Chege Kirundi attributed the sharp fall to a strengthening shilling, which appreciated from Sh160 to Sh129 against the dollar. But critics argue this explanation masks deeper structural issues, including mismanagement, questionable forex hedging, and opaque accounting practices.
The uproar comes even as President William Ruto projects tea earnings to hit Sh280 billion by 2027, touting the sector as a cornerstone of his Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. For the 680,000 smallholder farmers who form the backbone of the industry, the reality is grim: mounting debts, rising costs of farm inputs, and bonuses that no longer match the toil of their labour.
Civil society and farmer lobby groups are now demanding a forensic audit of KTDA’s accounts. “The numbers don’t add up. We need Parliament and the Auditor-General to investigate where farmers’ billions are disappearing to,” said Jane Wanjiku, a tea growers’ representative.
The controversy underscores a widening rift between KTDA’s corporate image, polished by high-level boardroom deals and State House endorsements, and the lived experiences of farmers whose livelihoods depend on equitable returns. As the calls for accountability grow louder, the so-called “Great Tea Robbery” threatens to shake the foundations of one of Kenya’s most vital export sectors.
