Mechanisation of tea harvesting now hot political campaign agenda

Finlays Kenya has mechanized the process of tea harvesting to reduce costs of production. [Courtesy]

Multinational tea firms in the South Rift region are staring at a bleak future should certain politicians win seats in the August General Election.

The politicians’ beef with the United Kingdom-based tea companies is about the mechanised tea harvesting machines, which they blame for rendering thousands of tea pluckers jobless and dealing a blow to the region’s economy.

With elections drawing closer, candidates have turned the mechanisation debate into a political agenda.

The issue has been cropping up in Kenya Kwanza rallies, including at the recent economic forum held at Kericho’s Green Stadium.

Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot said the Kenya Kwanza government’s first agenda will be to outlaw the use of machines in harvesting tea and ensure jobs for locals.

“We pray that Kenya Kwanza forms the next government. Our first agenda in the agriculture sector will be to outlaw mechanised tea harvesting,” he said.

Cheruiyot said tea farmers had already scored the first victory through the Tea Act, which he spearheaded.

“Though we have not gotten to where we want to be, at least Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) now pays Sh20 per kilogramme of the green leaf up from Sh13 it used to pay small-scale farmers before the tea reforms,” he said.

Cheruiyot said through the reforms, tea farmers now get their previous monthly tea payment by the fourth of every new month instead of waiting for a whole month.

Kericho UDA governor candidate Erick Mutai said should he win, his administration will outlaw the tea harvesting machines.

“At least 800,000 acres of land under tea belonging to multinational firms are under lease and belong to Kericho residents. They will have to remove the machines or we will slash the tea bushes,” he said.

Speaking at the Kericho County Economic Forum, Dr Mutai said his administration will also review the land rates paid by multinational tea firms.

“The Sh252 paid by the tea firms as land rates for an acre of land is too little and must be hiked,” he said.

Belgut MP Nelson Koech said the deployment of heavy machines has caused a sudden slump in the local economy by an estimated 20 per cent.

Tea is a top foreign exchange earner and is estimated to employ over 200,000 workers directly.

“If the multinational tea firms want to deploy tea harvesting machines, it should be only for 30 per cent of the work and 70 per cent left to the pickers,” said Koech.

He said the National Assembly should also recommend the mandatory maximum percentage of tea plantations that multinational tea firms must harvest mechanically to avert further job losses.

Speaking during the unveiling of James Finlay Community Trust, Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary (CS) Simeon Chelugui said the introduction of tea harvesting machines was hinged on the need to reduce labour costs and the ever-increasing cost of production.

“My ministry supports mechanisation because we cannot fight with technological advancement,” he said.

However, Chelugui supported Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony and Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) Deputy Secretary General Thomas Kipkemboi’s calls that the introduction of technology shouldn’t lead to job losses.

“Tea companies can upscale and give new opportunities to the workers. The labour force can be transferred from one unit to the other so that in the end, there are no job losses,” Chelugui said.

James Finlays Managing Director Simeon Hutchinson said mechanisation of the tea process is a business decision and not an industrial relations issue.

Jared Momanyi, the Bomet KPAWU branch secretary, and his Kericho counterpart Dickson Sang said the latest batch of tea harvesting machines were deployed by the multinational tea firms when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

According to the union, each of the machines can displace over 200 tea pluckers.

Bomet-Konoin MP Brighton Yegon who has been leading an onslaught against the companies said growing unemployment in the region is due to mechanisation.

Yegon, who is seeking re-election, said the arrival of machines has sent many youth home after which they resort to crime due to unemployment.

“The negative effect of mechanisation is serious and I am demanding that the companies should rescind the decision,” he said.

Yegon said his constituency is the worst hit because of its proximity to the companies.

He said cases of people breaking into the companies’ farms and plucking tea at night were rising, creating a huge conflict between the firms and residents.

Initiate laws

James Finlay’s Williamson tea and Uniliver tea are some of the companies in Bomet that recently introduced mechanisation in the plucking of tea.

Nairobi-based lawyer Hillary Sigei, who is seeking the Bomet Senate seat on a UDA ticket, has threatened to initiate laws barring the companies from using machines.

Sigei said while the move was good for the companies it was bad for the residents.

He said the management should open their eyes and see the language number of jobless youth and stop the excitement of mechanisation.

“These companies should be kind to locals and give them opportunities to earn a living,” he said. 

Sigei said the companies should prepare for a battle after elections to remove the machines. He said the companies were taking advantage of loopholes in the law to abuse residents.

“This is injustice that must be dealt with legally, we are already working to stop it,” he said.

He said the battle will be fought both at the County Assembly and National Assembly after the August polls.

Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok has also said the companies should be stopped by all means.

Barchok said while mechanisation was good for the companies it was exposing the county to an outcry.

“It’s my plea to the companies to look back and consider what we will face when thousands are released to idle in the villages,” he said.