Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Stop the exploitation of small tea farmers, whose wealth ends up in the hands of corrupt officials. This is the appeal launched by Father Ambrose Kimutai, parish priest of the church in Ndaraweta, Bomet County, in the western Rift Valley. “I speak on behalf of the small tea producers of Bomet, Kericho, and Nandi counties,” the priest said after Sunday Mass on October 26. “Small farmers produce large quantities of tea, and Kenya reaps enormous profits from its export, which allows it to pay the salaries of civil servants, teachers, and other employees.” “But, sadly,” he added, “the very system created by the government is destroying small farmers, imposing structures that exploit them and prevent them from earning sufficient income.” Father Ambrose is referring to the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), a state agency founded in 1964 to help local farmers improve their production and which buys a large portion of the tea grown in the Rift Valley region.The priest described as “shameful” the price of 13 Kenyan shillings per kilo (0.09 euros) that KTDA pays farmers in his area, an amount he considers completely insufficient to cover the high production costs. “We expected a bonus, but it’s only 13 shillings per kilo! Shameful! 13 shillings! If you give that to a farmer, they’ll start crying. The farmers are crying!” he exclaimed. Father Ambrose also highlighted the vast disparity between KTDA payments and those of other agencies, which pay up to 40 shillings (0.27 euros) per kilo of tea leaves. “If the government doesn’t intervene, we will stop picking tea and selling it to the KTDA,” he warned, giving the authorities a one-month ultimatum to take action. He also indicated that major transport routes could be blocked to demonstrate the farmers’ collective power. The Ministry of Agriculture has launched a full audit of loans obtained by companies managed by the KTDA, an institution that “was originally well-structured, but has been infiltrated by fraudsters who have driven up operating costs, negatively impacting farmers’ profits,” the Ministry’s Secretary General acknowledged. In early October, several members of parliament called for an investigation into corruption and mismanagement within the KTDA.Government investigations revealed an alarming situation: some agency directors hold between 110 and 165 meetings a year, charging an average of 50,000 shillings (334 euros) per meeting, which brings them between 5.5 and 8.25 million shillings annually (between 36,800 and 55,194 euros), at the expense of producers struggling to survive. Tea is Kenya’s second largest export, with a total value of 215 billion shillings (1,438,709 euros). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 31/10/2025)
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