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Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua announced on Saturday that he will meet Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) this week to address the issue of increasing tea earnings for small-scale farmers in response to the US dollar appreciating against the shilling.

Speaking on Saturday in Kigumo, Murang’a County, Gachagua (pictured) said since KTDA sells tea in US dollars, farmers’ earnings should not be constant.

Gachagua was responding to concerns of Gatanga MP Edward Muriu, who said income of tea farmers had dipped despite the high exchange rate of the dollar.

The Deputy President said the government will ensure the high exchange rate is reflected in the earnings of tea farmers.

“I concur with Muriu that if the exchange rate for the dollar is high, the same should reflect on farmers’ income because the crop trades in the USD. I will convene a meeting with KTDA and explore ways of improving the earnings. We cannot have a fixed rate of payment, the price should be paid at the existing exchange rate of the dollar on the respective day,” said Gachagua.

Cosmopolitan county

As at the end of the week, the official exchange rate of the Kenyan shilling against the US dollar was Sh162. Currently, farmers earn between Sh20 and Sh25 for every kilogramme of greenleaf tea delivered.

They also receive a bonus from sold tea, usually, annually, which is also varied depending on, among other factors, the quality of the tea.

Meanwhile, Gachagua has called on leaders in Trans Nzoia to maintain unity, saying it was crucial for development in the cosmopolitan county.

 Speaking yesterday when he attended mass at St Andrew Kaggwa Catholic Church in Kwanza, the Deputy President thanked the leaders for working together despite ethnic diversity.

 “This is a cosmopolitan county with members of different communities living here. We thank the leaders led by the governor for maintaining peace,” said the Deputy President. 

 He also called on the leaders in the Western region to unite for the benefit of the people. 

 “We congratulate the Western leaders for the effort to unite the people. I call on the leaders to continue uniting the people for the good of our country,” said the DP.