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Help, Tea Farmers Tell Kirwa
The farmers from Itumbe area are accusing Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) of irregularly collecting tea leaves for processing.They say tea leaves are rotting at various buying centres in the district after a tea factory rejected them.They are selling their crop to brokers from multinational companies because KTDA is rejecting it on flimsy grounds, they say.
A senior source at one of the factories said the farmers were not taking the necessary precautions when plucking the tea leaves.As a result, the farmers were losing millions of shillings by accepting the little amount of money paid for tea leaves sold on the black market, they said.
"We spend a lot of time plucking the tea and stay for long hours at the buying centres waiting for the clerks, only for our tea to be rejected," one farmer complained.The farmers cited Nyakegogi, Getenyanko, Nyamabariri and Nyagesa tea buying centres in Bassi Chache, Gucha District, as the most affected.
