Vihiga: As dawn breaks over the rolling green hills of Vihiga County, hundreds of tea farmers stream into neatly manicured tea fields, baskets strapped to their backs. Their hands move swiftly across the emerald bushes, carefully plucking the prized ‘two leaves and a bud,’ the delicate harvest that has sustained thousands of households for decades, while helping position Kenya among the world’s leading exporters of black tea.
According to Kenya News Agency, for many families in Vihiga, tea farming is more than an agricultural enterprise. It is a source of livelihood, a family inheritance, a symbol of resilience, and a pathway to a better future. Yet behind the lush plantations lies a story of perseverance, amid shrinking profits, rising production costs, climate change, and a growing concern that fewer young people are embracing the crop that has long sustained their communities.
For Anne Kigoda, a tea farmer from Mudete, tea farming has transformed her life. Anne ventured into tea farming in 2023 after attending a Farmers’ Field School organised by Mudete Tea Factory. The training equipped her with practical skills in tea husbandry and inspired her to develop the tea farm she inherited from her parents. “Tea farming has become my main source of income. It has enabled me to earn a living and support my family,” she says.
With approximately 300 tea bushes, Anne harvests an average of 70 kilogrammes of green leaf every ten days. At Sh25 per kilogramme, the earnings help meet her family’s daily needs. She describes tea as a long-term investment that rewards patience. Although a tea bush takes nearly three years to mature, it can remain productive for decades if properly managed.
Despite its economic significance, Anne says tea farmers continue to face numerous challenges. Her biggest concern is delays in collecting green leaf from buying centres. “Tea plucked early in the afternoon may remain in sacks until evening before factory trucks arrive. The longer it stays in the sack, the more heat it generates, causing fermentation that lowers quality. Sometimes the factory rejects it despite all the effort farmers have invested,” she explains.
Mudete Tea Factory Manager, Peter Munialo, acknowledges that delays occasionally occur, particularly during peak production seasons. He says the factory operates 12 vehicles that collect green leaf daily from 75 registered buying centres and several satellite collection points across Vihiga and Kakamega counties.
Climate change has also emerged as a major challenge. Anne notes that prolonged dry spells have significantly reduced tea production in recent years. She further cites inadequate communication between farmers and factory management, saying many growers lack information about international tea markets and export prices, making it difficult to understand how their earnings are determined.
According to Mudete Tea Factory Senior Supervisor, Robert Mwale, the factory currently serves about 12,000 tea growers from Vihiga and Kakamega counties. Its tea is exported to major international markets including China, Egypt, and Britain. China accounts for about 40 per cent of the factory’s exports, while Egypt imports approximately 25 per cent. Britain remains a key destination where Kenyan tea is blended before reaching global consumers.
To encourage local consumption, the factory has introduced smaller tea packages starting from 50 grams to make tea more affordable to households. Munialo says about 95 per cent of the factory’s processed tea is marketed through the Mombasa Tea Auction, while the remaining five per cent is sold locally through factory outlets and mobile distribution vans.
Munialo says the recently introduced tax levies on tea buyers have made Kenyan tea more expensive in international markets, reducing its competitiveness against tea from neighbouring Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania. “When Kenyan tea becomes more expensive because of taxes, buyers shift to other countries and we risk losing our markets,” he says, noting that the global tea market is already experiencing oversupply.
Looking ahead, Mudete Tea Factory plans to construct a hydroelectric power plant within the next one and a half years to reduce electricity costs. The factory is also embracing automation and digital technologies to improve efficiency, reduce labour costs, and enhance transparency in green leaf collection.
Beyond tea processing, financial institutions continue playing a vital role in supporting farmers. Mudete Tea Factory and Tea Growers SACCO Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Elkana Liyengwa, says the SACCO serves nearly 5,000 tea farmers by providing affordable credit that enables members to purchase farm inputs, expand tea acreage, and improve household incomes.
Agricultural experts believe sustained investment in farmer training and climate-smart agriculture will be critical to the future of tea production. Agricultural extension officer, Toney Anduvate, says continuous farmer training, improved access to quality inputs, strengthened extension services, and adoption of climate-smart farming practices remain essential in sustaining tea production.
As global competition intensifies and climate change continues to threaten agricultural production, stakeholders agree that innovation, investment, and stronger partnerships between farmers, factories, cooperatives, and government will determine the future of Kenya’s tea sector. For Anne Kigoda, however, tea remains more than just a cash crop. Every harvest tells a story of patience, determination, and resilience. Every kilogramme delivered to the factory represents school fees paid, food placed on the family table, and dreams kept alive.
