- Meru tea farmers demand scrapping of the 0.8 per cent levy following disappointing bonus payouts.
- Bonus rates varied widely across factories, with Michiimikuru recording one of the region’s lowest payments.
- Farmers and leaders blame rising regulatory costs and shipping expenses for shrinking earnings, urging tax relief and new markets.
Tea farmers in Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties have demanded the scrapping of a 0.8 per cent levy after receiving disappointing annual bonuses.
Growers and factory directors in the two counties say the payments for the 2025/2026 financial year fell short of what rising costs demanded. They blame taxes, higher regulatory charges and global trade disruptions for shrinking their returns.
Bonus rates varied sharply across the region. Imenti factory led with Ksh48 for every kilogramme of green leaf, followed by Kiegoi at Ksh45.70. Githongo and Kinoro each paid Ksh37, while Kionyo and Igembe paid Ksh36. Weru offered Ksh34.70. At the bottom, Michiimikuru factory in Tigania East managed only Ksh20.
Across the country, the picture was just as uneven. Payouts ranged from Ksh12 to Ksh50 per kilogramme. Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Holding National Chairman Enos Njeru had announced that the money would reach the accounts of an estimated 700,000 growers, and farmers soon crowded banks and Saccos to confirm it. In Embu County, Rukuriri factory growers celebrated a Ksh50 rate, their best in three years.
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Meru, however, told a different story. Batista Kanyaru, who chairs tea directors in Zone Seven, asked the national government to drop the 0.8 per cent levy altogether. He argued that the charge, together with heavier compliance costs, had pushed down what farmers take home. According to him, the Kenya Bureau of Standards levy has also climbed from Ksh400,000 to Ksh4 million.
Political leaders also came under fire. Lawmakers were blamed for failing to shield farmers from levies that make Kenyan tea less competitive by allowing Parliament to pass the levy.
By Benedict Aoya
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