The Tea Industry in Kenya: The Challenges and Positive Developments
1. Introduction
Tea was first introduced in Kenya from India by colonial settlers in 1903. Currently tea is the leading export crop in Kenya. In the world market, Kenya is the third largest producer of black tea after India and Sri Lanka. In 2001, the tea industry turnover was US$ 474 million of which US$ 437 million occurred from export. In the year 2002 Kenya was second only to Sri Lanka in exports of black tea.
The success story of tea is a product of three main developments. First the government policy after independence to integrate small scale growers into the mainstream of tea growing. Currently the small scale growers under the umbrella of Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) account for sixty percent of the total tea production while the multinational sector and large scale growers account for the remaining forty percent. The establishment of an efficient estate sector under the British tea companies has also introduced revolutionary improvements in the estate and factory management with a resulting five-fold increase in output. The selection of high yielding varieties mainly by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) and the selective application of herbicides and improved planting and cultivation methods, have had a dramatic effect on yield. In 1965, average yields in the estate sector were 948 kg per hectare. In 2002 they were two and a half times higher at 2498 kg per hectare.
