PROCESSORS APPEAL FOR CHEAP TEA SEEDLINGS FOR FARMERS

Tea pickers picking tea leaves in a tea plantation. Trans Nzoia deputy governor, Stanley Tarus says they will partner with the Tea Research Foundation to subsidise the cost of seedlings in the region. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

By PHILIP BWAYO

Tea processors in Trans Nzoia want the county government to help new farmers acquire seedlings at affordable prices.

More than 1,000 farmers have shown interest in growing the cash crop following a campaign to stop their over-reliance on maize growing.

“The number of farmers who have shown interest in growing the crop has increased. The challenge, however, still remains how to acquire the seedlings,” said Elgon Tea and Coffee factory manager Richard Kamau.

Mr Kamau said the trend where factories in the region used to only receive 35 per cent of green leaf from the region is slowly changing.

“We used to get the bulk of our green leaf from Nandi County. This is however changing,” he said.

“More farmers are choosing tea over maize which is remarkable. Our region has favourable climatic conditions,” he went on.

Deputy governor Stanley Tarus said they will partner with the Tea Research Foundation to subsidize the cost of seedlings.

Dr Tarus stressed on the need for diversification in the crops the farmers choose to plant saying: “The growing of tea in this region is more sustainable than maize farming whose prices have been seeing farmers incur losses.”
SOURCE: NMG/SEEDSOFGOLD