Nyeri — Tea farmers in Nyeri County want individual tea factories given financial autonomy through the amendment of the tea management agreement with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).
Speaking during a Senate Committee hearing on agriculture and livestock in Nyeri the farmers said the current tea management agreement which gives KTDA powers to control finances including proceed from sales of tea at the auction should be amended and instead the powers be given to directors at factory level.
"We want this new tea act which is being formulated at the Senate to cure management agreement with KTDA. Currently, our directors who are our representative have been reduced to flower girls in fact they do not even know how much our tea is sold. The amendment will free us from exploitation by agency top managers " said Mark Mwangi Giteru.
Giteru who is a director at Chinga tea factory in Othaya told the committee led by Kirinyaga senator James Murango that at the moment only factory managers are able to know how much their tea fetches at the auction and besides that their monies are deposited at agency pool account which only top managers run.
"We in this industry are usually in the dark, none of the farmers is in control of our factories. What we do is pick tea take it to the factory the rest is done by the agency including finances this should cede and each factory should have control of their destiny," said Giteru.
He suggested that each factory should have its own accountants and receive direct payments by buyers at the auction.
The farmers sentiments were echoed by Murango and his Nyeri counterpart Wahome Wamatinga who said that it's the high time farmers control their destiny through direct sales of their produce.
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"As a committee we are of the opinion that tea farmers have the right to sell their produce through direct sales and also at the auction, this means that when prices are high at the auction we allow that sale but when a direct sale is lower than that at the auction we force buyers to buy as per the auction price," said Murango.
The Nyeri senator on his part said that the act should allow farmers to receive their money directly at the factory accounts and pay farmers on time as opposed to the current settlement where they wait is longer.
"We want direct settlement of tea, once buyers pay the money should hit farmers account at the factory level, this will give their directors a chance to pay them promptly," said Wamatinga.
The comments by farmers comes at a time when the agency is facing a standoff from directors who want direct control of their factory accounts.
The farmers representative recently disagreed with the agency and refused to sign the management agreement with the body until their needs are met.
