Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has warned Tea Board directors over taking farmer’s money for granted.
The move, has led to convening a nationwide crisis meeting with them scheduled for Wednesday to discuss issues facing the industry.
Gachagua explained that the meeting would involve directors of the Kenya Tea Development Agency which has members drawn from all tea farming regions
Tea is the main cash crop in Mt Kenya and Rift Valley regions
According to a dispatch sent to newsrooms, the meeting will be used to discuss how to entrench reforms in the tea sector, one major foreign exchange earner for the country.
“The reforms I have been pushing with governors, Members of Parliament, and other stakeholders are bearing fruit. Our farmers have earned high bonuses, which they have not received for many years. I will meet with the directors from across the country to agree on the way forward in firming up and sustaining the reforms,” he declared.
Gachagua emphasised that the government was focused on ensuring that farmers earned what they deserve
Due to declining earnings, it has been reported that some farmers are uprooting their crops and shifting to other high-earning businesses.
Since the Tea Conference in July, Gachagua has claimed that farmers are earning more compared to other years. Safinews.co.ke cannot independently verify this claim.
Gachagua in the past warned the KTDA directors who were misusing the farmer’s money by funding unnecessary travel across the globe would face consequences.
Gachagua also accused the directors of starting new projects without sharing the profits with the farmers who are the critical contributors to the much accumulated wealth.
“You can’t sit in Nairobi and start a project worth billions without talking to the owners of the money,” he warned.