Where dwindling shilling brings joy

Kericho is Kenya’s biggest tea producer, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country’s total production.

The tea sector supports livelihoods of more than three million, directly and indirectly, and is the leading foreign exchange earner.

The county’s centrality in the country’s economy is evidenced by its recent contribution to the shooting of the shilling to the all-time high of Sh107 against the US dollar.

Economics attributed skyrocketing of the shilling to deposits of tea bonus cash amounting to Sh38 billion in two local commercial banks as having created a scarcity of money in the banking system, forcing some lenders to borrow from the Central Bank at a punitive cost — or six times the normal rate.

AUCTION PRICES

This year’s tea bonus payout was higher by Sh13 billion compared to last year’s Sh25 billion owing to improved international auction prices.

The deal was even made sweeter by the situation of the shilling, which sent exporters smiling all the way to the bank.

With 90, 330, 783 kilogrammes of green leaf out of the total 399, 006, 377 kg, the county has 31, 870 hectares under crop compared to the country’s total 171,196.

Kericho County has 22 factories out of the national total of 98. Out of these only three, Kaisugu LTD, Kabianga Tea Factory Limited, Kapchebet Tea Factory are privately owned, while the rest are shared out between the multi-nationals and the Kenya Tea Development Authority.

The number of small-scale holders is 69, 663 compared to the national 600,066.

This huge difference is accounted for by the fact that much of the tea in Kericho is largely owned by the multi-nationals, such as Uniliver, James Finlay and George Williamson.

What makes Kericho ideal for tea production?  High altitude, adequate rainfall and fertile soils have ensured that it was the country’s leading tea growing zone with a high concentration of tea factories.

Dubbed “God’s bathroom,” the county has a mean annual rainfall varyng from 1800mm around Kericho town and the whole forest area from 1400mm to 1800 mm. April and May get the heaviest rainfall. January and February are dry.

The county got a total of Sh2.7 billion as tea bonus payments, with Tegat leading the pack with Sh783million, followed by Kapkatet with Sh747millon. Momul managed Sh703m while Litein factory received Sh557M.

There has been an increase in green leaf production in the county an occurrence attributed good international prices and improved crop husbandry.

The farmers in Region 5 (the larger South Rift region) of Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) cluster collected Sh8.6 billion bonus after delivering 189 million kilogrammes of green tea leaves.

The cluster includes Tegat, Litein, Kapkatet, Momul, Kapkoros, Kapset and Mogogosiek.

DESTRUCTION OF MAU THREATENS SECTOR

During the rainy season, a lot of tea goes to waste as poor roads and shortage of collecting vans combine to rob farmers of their hard-earned money.

The crop has also increasingly come under the threat of from climate change which has seen more erratic weather.

Experts say continued destruction of Mau forest for charcoal, timber and threat land for settlement will reduce tea production.

According to Beatrice Cheserek, an environmentalist with the tea research foundation, the temperatures in Kericho have been rising by 0.02 degrees Celsius since 1958, but was quick to add that it did not necessarily mean tea production was lowering.

“On the contrary, as the temperatures rise, tea production also goes up. It is a complex model,” she said but stressed the importance of the forest survival.

“Mau, of course regulates and modulates the temperatures. Tamper with it and we shall be the first casualties. It is paramount for Mau to be conserved,” she said.