Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe speaking at a local radio station. Photo/courtesy

Tea levy will not hurt farmers, Kagwe assures growers

Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe says the proposed 0.8% tea levy will be paid by buyers, not farmers, and will not reduce grower earnings. The levy will support farmer payments, research, infrastructure and marketing as Kenya seeks to protect tea through a Geographical Indication. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe has said the proposed 0.8% tea…

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Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe-Photo|Courtesy

Kagwe defends tea levy as government bets on value addition

Kagwe defended the Tea Levy, saying it funds tea marketing, research and value addition, not farmers. Tea uptake has risen to 93 per cent, which he said disproves claims the levy has hurt sales. Gov’t handed over a Ksh360 million Sencha tea factory to Kangaita Tea Factory to boost value addition and farmer incomes. Agriculture…

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Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi (centre) during a development tour at Mudete Tea Factory in Vihiga County. Photo courtesy

Gov’t moves to revive tea sector as KTDA firms up fertiliser transport plan

Gov’t says reforms are underway to tackle high taxes, poor roads, pests, diseases and price volatility affecting tea farmers, while urging continued production. Mudavadi says Mudete Tea Factory serves about 12,000 farmers and has transformed livelihoods, as leaders call for more factories, lower taxes and better rural roads. KTDA has procured 99,000 metric tonnes of…

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A worker plucks tea at a farm-Photo|Courtesy

Kirinyaga farmers reject proposed 8 pc tea levy, demand direct export access

Tea farmers in Kirinyaga County have come out strongly against a proposed levy by the Tea Board of Kenya, describing it as punitive and ill‑timed. At an emergency meeting, growers warned that the new charge would worsen their already fragile economic situation and erode Kenya’s competitiveness in global markets. The protest was led by John…

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Tea farmers plucking tea leaves/Photo file

High Court dismisses tea farmers’ case over bonus

The High Court in Nairobi has dismissed an application by small-scale tea farmers challenging alleged discriminatory tea bonus payments for the 2024/2025 financial year, ruling that the matter had been overtaken by events. In a ruling delivered at the Milimani Law Courts on January 27,  Justice Roselyne  Aburili  found that the bonuses in dispute had…

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