A farmer picks tea. [File, Standard]
Tea plucking continued within Mt Kenya region after the farmers ignored the planned national strike and instead resolved to have their grievances addressed during the end-of-year meetings.
Across the counties, the farmers were busy on their farms, accompanied by their tea pluckers, as the planned presentation of a petition by critics questioning the alleged obtaining of loans of Sh34 billion by December last year failed.
The Tea Board of Kenya, through its website, has discouraged farmers from participating in the strike that had called for the resignation of directors, scrapping of tea levy, audit of status of factory debts and halt factories upgrade programme.
A spot by The Standard at Ngere Tea Factory, revealed that green leaf collection trucks were in the field collecting the produce from the buying centres from as early as 10.30 am
In Murang’a, John Macharia and Peter Kamonde, farmers of Kanyenya ini and Kiru tea factories, said although there was need for accountability on the utilisation of the loans in the factories, the critics should desist from inciting the growers.
Macharia said though a forensic financial audit was needed, there was no need for the critics to call for a national strike as any issues can be deliberated during the annual general meetings of the respective factories.