The government has set aside Sh10 billion to modernise smallholder tea factories, promote value addition and improve earnings for thousands of farmers.
Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh said Sh4.5 billion had already been released, with Sh1 billion going towards factory modernisation while the remainder has supported fertiliser subsidies.
The announcement came as the government flagged off 30,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser at the Port of Mombasa for distribution to Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) farmers.
The consignment is the first of 99,000 metric tonnes scheduled for distribution ahead of the rainy season.
Mr Ronoh said timely delivery would help farmers apply fertiliser at the right time and improve productivity, noting that last year’s supplies reached farmers as late as December.
Tea farmers will access the subsidised fertiliser at Sh2,000 per 50kg bag.
The government is also pushing reforms aimed at improving tea marketing, efficiency and returns to farmers. Recent auction performance has offered some optimism, with KTDA reporting improved sales and prices following expanded marketing efforts.
Mr Ronoh urged farmers to maintain quality by harvesting mature leaves, saying quality would remain critical in securing better prices locally and internationally.
The government also plans to encourage more tea packaging in Kenya rather than exporting tea in bulk for processing and packaging abroad.
The move is expected to create jobs while retaining more value within the country.
A scientific tea testing centre has also completed its pilot phase and is expected to become fully operational to address concerns around quality testing and certification.
KTDA chairman Enos Njeru said the fertiliser consignment would produce about 1.9 million 50kg bags of NPK 26:5:5 for distribution across tea-growing regions.
The latest intervention comes as the government seeks to make the tea sector more competitive while improving the returns received by smallholder farmers.
