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Farmers protest at ‘fraud’ by tea firm

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Published on Monday, 14 July 2008 22:19

Farmers allied to a tea factory in Gucha District are dissatisfied with its management and now want the Government to intervene.

The farmers accused the managers of Ogembo Tea Factory of embezzlement following an announcement last week that they would not earn their interim bonus due to a post-production loss of Sh9 million.

The factory, whose monthly capacity is 15 million tonnes, is operating at a monthly average of 1.5 million tonnes — ten times below its recommended output — while overhead costs remain the same.

The farmers, drawn from 106 buying centres, yesterday gathered outside the factory gate and threatened to stage a demonstration if the management didn’t summon a meeting to explain the failure to pay their dues.

"We are paid peanuts for the produce we work so hard for; our livelihoods have been ruined as these managers’ pockets continue to fatten," they said.

The farmers also alleged the factory managers lend farm inputs and fertiliser to non-existent farmers.

While decrying the sorry state of affairs at the processing plant, a cross-section of farmers interviewed attributed the loss to poor management, which they vow to not let continue.

Currently, the farmers are earning a monthly net payment of Sh10.50 per kilogramme of green leaf; a figure they say is way below the expected minimum of Sh20.

They said the company delayed collecting produce from buying centres resulting in bad end product.

"We are charged a monthly cess for road and vehicle maintenance, yet the roads are bad and lorries in poor condition," they said.

Farmers like Mr Cornelius Nyabuti Mogaka have now started uprooting tea and planting other crops.