Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said that reforms initiated in the Tea sub-sector are yielding positive results.
The Deputy President attributed the positive outcome from the Tea sub-sector stakeholders’ Conference which he chaired in Kericho in July this year.
He said the conference provided a much-needed platform to listen to the farmers’ concerns and agreed on best interventions to improve their earnings.
“The pay will be one of the highest in recent years, signifying the importance of stakeholder engagement in the bid to reform the sector. This is just the beginning. We will not relent until the smallholder farmers get their rightful pay that’s commensurate with the hard work they put in their farms,” said the second in command after hosting tea stakeholders, including KTDA officials in Karen Wednesday.
The second in command reiterated that President William Ruto’s administration is keen on better earnings for the farmers and mandated him with instituting long term reforms in the subsector.
“This is because a stable and profitable Tea sub-sector is good for our country as it is one of the leading foreign exchange earners,” he said.
According to DP Gachagua, following the roll out the reforms, projected tea export earnings is expected to rise to about Ksh 150 billion up from Ksh 138 billion last year.