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{
    "id": 1613967,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1613967/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 71,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga Kanyuithia",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "payment increased by 12 per cent from the average of Ksh59.02 in the Financial Year 2022/2023 to Ksh65.95 in the Financial Year 2023/2024. The total payment to the farmers increased by 34 per cent from Ksh67.6 billion in the Financial Year 2022/2023 to Ksh90.5 billion in the Financial Year 2023/2024. The third issue was on the measures the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is taking through relevant agencies such as the Tea Board of Kenya and the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to ensure that all farmers receive fair, uniform and transparent bonuses based on their production levels. Tea factories in the west of the Rift Valley generally fetch lower prices in comparison to those in the east of the Rift Valley because of differences in the quality associated with the farmers' husbandry practices. Additionally, most of the factories in the west of the Rift Valley have loans that were used to establish satellite factories that attract high interest rates in comparison to factories in the east of the Rift Valley. Cognisant of the above issues, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has put in place various programmes to improve the livelihood of smallholder tea farmers by improving average payment from Ksh50.18 per kilogramme of greenleaf in 2022 to Ksh100 by 2027. The following measures have been put in place: One, the Strategic Tea Quality Improvement Programme (STQIP). The programme entails: 1. Conducting blind testing of teas from all licensed tea factories for evaluation and ranking. 2. Selecting the 15 lowest-ranked tea factories in quality for inclusion in the Quality Improvement Programme. 3. Sensitising farmers and the factory management on the standards of greenleaf. 4. Undertaking on-site capacity-building trainings with tea makers for black CTC and orthodox teas. The programme is expected to improve the quality of tea produced by factories to above-average or premium-quality teas, which are expected to fetch better prices in the market. Two, the standard for the quality of green leaf for processing by tea factories. The Ministry and other relevant industry players have developed a guideline or standard on the quality of green leaf plucked and delivered for processing by tea farmers to the factories. The guideline prescribes the minimum standard on green leaf quality to be processed by all tea factories and will bridge the quality and price differences between the west of the Rift Valley and the east of the Rift Valley factories, once implemented. The Tea Board of Kenya is sensitising tea farmers and factories on green leaf quality standards in collaboration with county governments. Three, the establishment of a laboratory for quality analysis and tea testing. The Tea Board of Kenya is in the process of establishing a quality analysis laboratory in Mombasa that will validate the quality and safety of tea in regard to the following: 1. Physical-quality parameters, microbiological parameters, heavy metal containment, contaminants and pesticide residues and emerging contaminants. 2. Scientific verification of teas offered for sale in the auction to determine the evaluation based on quality by checking the nitrogen, polyphenols and ash contents. 3. Sensory evaluation of tea as part of quality assurance activities to complete the scientific testing of tea to be used in determining the price. The civil works for the laboratory are complete and are awaiting equipment and other resources for operationalisation. Fourth, the provision of subsidised fertiliser as an intervention. The Government allocated Ksh2 billion fertiliser subsidy to reduce the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of fertiliser to Ksh2,500. This has enhanced productivity and quality of tea in the country. The fertiliser, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}