- Murang’a tea farmers are demanding answers over unexplained bonus payment disparities.
- Farmers are questioning why some factories pay significantly more than others in the same region.
- Calls for accountability have sparked debate over who should address the widening payment gap.
Farmers in Murang’a are demanding answers over disparities in tea bonus payments, saying explanations from their directors remain unsatisfactory.
Those allied to Kiru, Kanyenya ini, Gatunguru and Githambo tea factories say the declared bonus fell short of their expectations. They compare it with the lucrative payout for colleagues in Njunu, Ikumbi, Ngere, Makomboki and Gacharage tea factories.
At a meeting, farmers allied to Kanyenya ini tea factory in Kangema pleaded with their Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Kihungi to help investigate the payment disparities. They noted that farmers in Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Zone Two have been paid better than those in Zone Three over the past three years.
Speaking at Kiirini Tea Buying Centre in Kangema, farmers led by Selina Muthoni Kamau and Ezekiel Ndegwa said there is total confusion. They have been promised Ksh30 per kg, compared to Ksh30.50 per kg last year.
They added that low payments have exposed them to suffering, with many farmers opting to replace tea bushes with dairy cows.
“The payment from my 3,000 tea bushes is not enough to sustain my family, thus I need to replace the tea bushes with avocado trees,” said Ndegwa.
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Kihungi called for an explanation of the disparity in payments between Zone Two and Zone Three, despite the KTDA managed tea factories being in the same region.
He said it was a pity that farmers in Nduini village in Kangema, at the edge of Kiharu and Kigumo constituencies, are experiencing the difference. Those supplying green leaf to Gacharage Tea Factory received a bonus of Ksh49 per kg, while those at Githambo Tea Factory received Ksh30.
Factories in KTDA Zone Two declared the following payments: Gacharage paid Ksh49, Ngere Ksh48, Njunu Ksh45.20, Makomboki Ksh45, Ikumbi Ksh40 and Nduti Ksh40.
In Zone Three, Kiru will pay Ksh31, Gatunguru Ksh30.50, Kanyenya Ksh30 and Githambo Ksh30.50.
“The situation is discouraging, as tea farmers have continued to suffer despite putting in significant effort to sustain the tea industry,” he said.
He added that the variance in bonus payments requires urgent intervention to establish why farmers supplying green leaf to factories in Murang’a receive significantly different payments.
“I plead with Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata to form a task force charged with responsibility to investigate the disparity between tea factories in Zones Two and Three,” he said.
However, tea value chain expert Peter Kamore says the MP had failed in his responsibility. According to him, Kihungi could have opposed the introduction of the tea levy and reduction of taxes, which affected the market for premium tea at the Mombasa Tea Auction.
“It is high time parliamentarians from tea growing areas met the factory directors to understand the reasons behind the disparities in bonus payment,” said Kamore.
By our correspondent
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