Construction of the Kiptere tea factory in Kericho District, which has been stalled, will resume in April.
The 960 million louse factory will be a satellite facility of the giant Momuru tea factory, which was commissioned in 2002 as a two-line factory capable of producing 15 million kilograms of fresh leaves.
According to Isaiah Langat, chairman of Momuru Tea Factory, construction should have started late last year.
“Construction could have started, but the succession of the land was a little difficult,” Langat said.
He said the Kenya Tea Board met on January 26 and approved the license for the factory.
The factory will be built on 12 acres of land in Itibet, Kipterre province.
Farmers donated Sh960,160,154 million over eight years for the establishment of the satellite factory.
Langat pointed out that the satellite factories will reduce congestion and waste at the main factory.
Tea farmer Philip Maritim says he is experiencing many challenges as he has to wait until midnight at various tea purchasing centers for KTDA trucks to sort his produce for delivery to the main factory. Told.
He said the satellite factory would be a big boost for small-scale tea farmers in Sigowet/Soin sub-county as it would not only ease congestion at the mother factory but also reduce production costs and improve farmers' profitability. Ta.
Previously, there was push and pull over the location of factories, with farmers in Seretet district wanting the factory to be located in their area, and farmers in Kipterre also wanting the factory to be located in their area. Farmers in Seretet district took the dispute to court.
However, the High Court ordered the parties to resolve the matter out of court, and the parties agreed to build factories in each of the two zones (Kiptere and Serete).
The board of directors agreed that the first factory to be built will be Kiptere, and once it is completed, other factories in the Seretet zone will also be built.
During the 2013 Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Momuru Tea Factory, tea farmers agreed to have a monthly deduction of 2 and 3 shillings per kilogram in the final bonus payment.
This was to be used to build new tea factories in areas with high green leaf production.
Kiptere zone produced more than 36 million kilograms of tea and took the lead with 183.8 million lice collected.
Kamaso district produced 30.34 million kg of green tea and collected Sh151.7 million, Kebeneti district produced 30.31 million kg and collected Sh151.5 million, and Kabianga district produced 9.8 million kg and collected Sh49.4 million. Collected.
Farmers say Chemamul district is not on the list of locations for new factories because it is home to the Mommul factory, which produces 30.5 million kilograms of green leaves to collect 152.9 million lice.
The factory will specialize in the production of orthodox tea and black CTC and will be important for the tea sub-sector and the country as a whole due to its role in product diversification.
“The government has made deliberate efforts to promote product diversification, particularly the production of orthodox and specialty teas to reduce over-reliance on CTC black tea,” Langat said.
