The True Price of Quality: On the Infrastructures of Tea in Postcolonial Kenya (original) (raw)
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Challenges Affecting the Tea in Nyeri County, Kenya
Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology
Aim: To investigate the factors curtailing production of tea in Nyeri and come up with possible mitigating measures. Study Design: In-depth qualitative survey that involved the interviewing of 28 tea farmers and 4 key informants (Subcounty Agricultural Officers) Place and Duration of Study: Othaya, Tetu and Mathira sub counties of Nyeri County: July 2014 Methodology: Twenty eight farmers and 4 Key informants were interviewed using 2 structured questionnaires. The interviewees were selected using systematic random sampling. Data was collected on the challenges that face the tea sector as well as the mitigating measures used to address them. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentages and means) using SPSS statistical program. Results: Low prices, lack of technical know-how on some aspects of tea production, adverse climatic conditions, lack of markets for purple tea were identified as major issues limiting tea sector in the county. Possible solutions have been discussed in this paper. Conclusion: Challenges that face the tea sector need to be addressed expeditiously in order to maximize tea production and earnings in Kenya.
Current Trend in Kenya's Tea Industry
Agricultural Socio-Economics Journal
The tea industry in Kenya is comparably similar to other production firms – ups and downs surround its operations day in and day out. Several previous research studies have majored in Kenya's tea industry, with the aim of studying what surrounds tea production. In this project, the focus is to establish a concrete comprehension pertaining current status of Kenya’s tea, the global trade of Kenyan-based tea, the impacts of COVID-19 on the tea industry, and the sector’s possible countermeasures. To fully capture the requirements of the study, helpful resources were obtained through rigorous retrieval of data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Board of Kenya Statista, KNBS, and Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) websites. Also, other sources of information that stood to provide relevant data for this purpose were considered eligible for the research study. The key findings obtained from the studied resources established the following: To start with, Kenya is a significant player...
Is It Formal or Informal? Choice of Market Outlets for Unprocessed Tea in Nandi County, Kenya
Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 2020
The tea industry plays a key role in the agriculture sector and the economy at large with tea output contributing about 11% of the agriculture sector's contribution to Gross Domestic Product. Like many other crops in Kenya, tea is produced both on small and large-scale basis. Smallholder farmers in Kenya make a significant contribution to the industry producing 61% of the total national production and with 66% of tea acreage. Formal market outlets are more profitable than informal ones. However, small tea agri enterprises in Nandi County prefer selling their unprocessed tea to informal market outlets. Empirical evidence on what motivates these agrienterprises to sell most of their tea to these outlets is scanty. The main objective of this study was to compare the profitability of formal and informal market outlets for unprocessed tea in Nandi County. Multistage sampling procedure was employed and 384 respondents interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using gross margin analysis. Formal market outlets are more beneficial because of higher gross margin rate of 12.71% compared to informal market outlets having the gross margin rate of 1.08%.The findings are helpful in guiding smallholder tea farmers in information on the most profitable and efficient market outlets and informing policy makers on how to improve the efficiency of market outlets.
In the Mists of Development: Fairtrade in Kenyan Tea Fields
Globalizations, 2008
Increasing numbers of consumers see themselves as 'partners' in poverty reduction, purchasing Fairtrade products to offset inequalities in the global economy and to ensure that producers in developing countries enjoy the same basic rights and freedoms as their Western counterparts. Yet the extent to which ethical consumption is restructuring commodity chains in a way that diminishes hierarchies between producers and consumers remains an open question. Drawing on a qualitative research project of ethical sourcing in African agriculture, this paper discusses the extent to which key tenets of the fair trade system-empowerment, transparency, equal exchange, and democratic participation-are realized among Fairtrade tea producers in Kenya. It suggests that while such ideals embrace the aspirations of sustainable development, their achievement remains distant from the experience of many producers, for whom ethical outcomes are shaped by an array of conflicting interests, both within and beyond the commodity chain. Cada vez más, un número de consumidores se ven a sí mismos como 'socios' en la disminución de la pobreza cuando compran productos de comercio justo para contrarrestar las desigualdades en la economía global y para asegurarse de que los productores de los países en desarrollo gocen de los mismos derechos y libertades básicas como sus homólogos occidentales. No obstante la magnitud con que el consumo ético está reestructurando las cadenas de los bienes de consumo, de una manera que reduce las jerarquías entre los productores y los consumidores, continúa siendo una pregunta abierta. Este artículo con base en un proyecto de investigación cualitativa sobre contratación ética en la agricultura africana, plantea hasta qué punto los principios del sistema de comercio justo-delegación de responsabilidades, transparencia, igualdad de intercambio y participación democrática-son realizados bajo comercio justo entre los productores de té en Kenia. Sugiere que mientras muchos ideales aceptan las aspiraciones del desarrollo sostenible, sus logros continúan lejanos a la experiencia de muchos productores,
Unilever Sustainable Tea. Part II: Reaching out to Smallholders in Kenya and Argentina
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Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina-3 Contents Executive summary Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina-5 Unilever sustainable tea: Reaching out to smallholders in Kenya and Argentina-4 Chapter 1 Executive summary 'We convinced the farmers to adapt good agricultural practices through their own experiments on the fi eld. This soon led to increased yields and to extra income for them.' Peter Mbadi, Agriculture Manager, Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) These pressures threaten not only the raw material supply for key industries such as food & beverage and textiles, but also the livelihoods of tens of millions of people and the natural resources they depend on. For this reason, companies, NGOs, and governments are actively seeking solutions to render commodity value chains more sustainable.
Sustainable tea production: an assessment of Farmer Field Schools in Kenya
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This report presents the results of the KTDA/Lipton Sustainable Agriculture Project. The aim of the KTDA/Lipton Sustainable Agriculture Project is to increase the sustainability of tea production by increasing the rate of adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and thereby directly ...
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Poverty reduction among smallholders has remained a major priority for the Kenyan government. Efforts have been geared to have a streamlined agri-business system like emulated by the tea sub-sector. In the smallholder tea sub-sector, farmers are organized to private companies, owns factories, engage in produce assembling, processing, contract experts for profession services, have micro-financing institutions serving them, and procure fertilizer from overseas in bulk to distribute it to its members. While the success of the organization and operations are visible the impact of the enterprise returns are unknown. The paper discusses the tea farming enterprise contribution to the well being of the smallholders ’ tea farmers in central and western highlands of Kenya.
Journal of Business Ethics, 2010
Various promising claims have been made that business can help alleviate poverty, and can do so in ways that add value to the bottom line. This article begins by highlighting that the evidence for such claims is not especially strong, particularly if business is thought of as a development agent, i.e. an organization that consciously and accountably contributes towards propoor outcomes. It goes on to ask whether, if we did know more about either the business case or the poverty alleviation case, would this give cause for greater optimism that business could make a significant contribution to development. By exploring the experiences of producers of Fairtrade tea in Kenya, we reveal the complex nature of what constitutes a beneficial outcome for the poor and marginalized, and the gap that can exist between ethical intentions and the experience of their intended beneficiaries. The lessons of these experiences are relevant for Fairtrade and any commercial initiative that seeks to achieve outcomes beneficial and recognizable to the poor, and raise questions about the integration of social and instrumental outcomes that a future generation of ethical entrepreneurship will need to address.