The Ministry of Agriculture is taking a bold stand to protect Kenya’s tea farmers from exploitation and ensure the integrity of the country’s top export sector, following emerging concerns over illegal green leaf trade practices.
Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Mutahi Kagwe has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to safeguarding farmer incomes and strengthening the tea value chain by cracking down on the hawking of green leaf—a practice he says undermines both product quality and farmer earnings.
“Factories found perpetuating the hawking of green leaf will be delicensed in accordance with the Tea Act, 2020,” CS Kagwe declared during a high-level meeting at Kilimo House, Nairobi. “This malpractice not only compromises quality but directly robs farmers of their rightful earnings.”
The warning follows a prolonged standoff involving Kapkoros Tea Factory PLC in Bomet County and its affiliated factories—Motigo, Tirgaga, and Olenguruone—which has sparked concern over coordination failures and market disruptions that could threaten the livelihoods of thousands of tea farmers across Bomet and Nakuru counties.
Kagwe stressed that the government’s top priority remains the welfare of smallholder farmers who form the backbone of the tea industry. He pointed out that protecting their interests requires eliminating unscrupulous middlemen and enforcing strict compliance across the sector.
