By JOHN M. OMITIMore by this AuthorSince the liberalisation of the tea industry in 2000, a lot of changes have taken place in the sector locally and globally. The industry supports more than 600,000 small-scale farmers while more than five million Kenyans are employed directly or indirectly. There are persistent claims of cartels in the tea industry, especially at the marketing (transportation, insurance and brokerage) segments of the value chain. Suppose farmers pool resources and adopt tea plucking machines, what are the alternative sources of employment for current tea pickers? As a country, we need to do what must be done to safeguard the future of the tea industry.

Source: Daily Nation May 01, 2020 18:00 UTC