How bad tea politics brew bitter taste for smallholder farmers

Once again, farmers are crying foul over last week’s second and final bonus payment from the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).
So far, the payment, as declared by different tea factories, ranges from as low as Sh9.50 per kilogramme (Tombe factory) in Nyamira to as high as Sh30 per kilogramme (Gacharage in Murang’a).
This was the third year in a row that the more than 700,000 smallholder farmers are seeing declining earnings from the crop. The farmers’ complaints have some basis and the government has noted.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya commissioned a study to evaluate the impact of commercial activities, behaviour and, earnings of KTDA smallholders farmers. This is data that should be in the public domain if the Agency is