Tea Factories Review Green Leaf Payments After Farmers’ Push for Higher Rates

By benadeta mwaura - Reporter

Kenya, January 22, 2026 - Several tea factories across Kenya have responded to persistent calls from smallholder farmers by raising the monthly green leaf payment, a key income component for growers whose livelihoods depend on tea production. Under the decision taken by factory boards, and endorsed by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Holding Board, pay for green leaf delivered to select factories has been increased from Sh25 to Sh30 per kilogram, starting with payments due on February 5.

The move follows mounting pressure from farmers during last year’s protests and annual general meetings across tea-growing regions. Factories in Embu and Nyeri counties, including Kathangariri, Mungania, Rukuriri, Chinga, Gathuthi, Gitugi, Iria Ini and Ragati, have already approved the adjustment.

Boards met separately but reached similar conclusions that the increment was necessary to respond to growers’ demands and help cushion households facing high cost-of-living pressures. In Iria Ini, for example, directors chaired by Machira Muturi convened specifically to finalise the review before notifying farmers. Local KTDA Holding Board members such as Enos Njeru in Embu emphasised that the revisions came after in-depth consultations and careful consideration of factories’ financial accounts. Farmers will receive the revised rate in their January payment cycle.

The increase was driven by longstanding dissatisfaction among smallholder tea growers, who supply over 700,000 registered farmers nationwide, with relatively low green leaf pay compared to past years and compared with incomes needed to sustain families, pay school fees and avoid predatory loans.

Many farmers view the higher rate as a strategy to discourage green leaf hawking to private factories, a practice that diverts supply and depresses incomes. “I’ve been pressing for fairer rates for years,” said Francis Mwaniki, a farmer at Rukuriri. “This increment will improve the livelihoods of tea farmers and their dependents.”

Tea payment systems in Kenya have long been influenced by global auction prices, factory performance and leaf quality, issues that came to a head last season when some growers earned as little as Sh10 per kilogram in parts of the West of the Rift, while others in the East of the Rift earned significantly more. That disparity has triggered parliamentary probes and public debate about fairness and sustainability in the sector.

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KTDA officials have previously explained that payout differences reflect factors such as the quality of green leaf supplied, operational costs and how well teas perform at international auctions, rather than arbitrary decisions, and have urged farmers to focus on quality plucking to improve factory revenues and bonus pay.

The tea industry has also faced pressure from practices such as tea hawking, where unscrupulous middlemen buy produce illicitly at low prices, undermining factory operations and revenue sharing. The Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) has in recent years outlawed hawking and threatened legal sanctions to protect growers and regulated factories.

The adjustment to Sh30 per kilogram is seen as a positive step toward meeting farmer expectations and stabilising incomes in a key agricultural sector that supports entire communities. The decision underscores the increasing influence of farmer advocacy and factory governance reforms in managing payments, addressing market pressures, and responding to economic realities facing smallholder producers.

However, experts warn that for deeper and more equitable improvements, the sector needs not only higher monthly rates but also enhanced leaf quality, better market access, value addition, and stronger oversight of both public and private factory operations.