AGRICULTURE 2

The principal cash crops grown in Kenya are tea, coffee, sugarcane, pyrethrum, wheat,
rice, maize, wattle and sisal.

Tea farming in Kenya

Tea is a non-alcoholic beverage obtained from the tender leaves( two leaves and a bud)
of the tea plant.There are two varieties - The Assam variety and the Chinese variety.
Kenya's tea is among the best in the world. It is grown in the eastern and the Western
Highlands. Counties that grow tea include:
● Nyeri
● Murang’a
● Kiambu
● Thika
● Kericho
● Nandi
● Kakamega
● Nyambene Hills
● Nyayo tea zones in Mt. Elgon

Physical requirements for tea cultivation

● Moderate to high temperatures.
● High annual rainfall.
● Well distributed rainfall throughout the year.
● Frost-free areas.
● Deep well-drained soils/ volcanic soils.
● Slightly acidic soils/pH of between 4 to 6.
● High altitude/ gently sloping land/ undulating land.

Human requirements for tea cultivation

● Plenty of labour/ labour intensive for cultivation harvesting and processing.
● Good possible roads are required to transport the tea leaves to the factory very
quickly as he is highly perishable.
● Capital is required to pay workers.
● Tea plantations should be located close to the factory since the tea leaves are
perishable.
Cultivation of tea
● The land is first cleared.
● Tea seedlings or cuttings are raised for about 18 months in a nursery and when
they attain a height of 30cm, they are transplanted.
● Tea is usually planted in Concord Rose 1.5m apart.
● Weeding, manuring and pruning are carried out at regular intervals.
● The tea plant is mulched with dried leaves.
● The tea bushes are then pruned, weeded and sprayed.
● The first picking takes place after 2 to 4 years but full maturity is reached after 5
years.
● Picking is done fortnightly .

Processing of tea
● When the bushes are ready only the two top leaves and a bud/ flash are picked.
● The green leaves are transported in airy baskets to a collecting centre, sorted out
and weighed.
● The weighed leaves are transported by lorries fitted with bags to the processing
factories.
● The tea leaves are weighed again.
● The tea leaves are spread out on long wire trays.
● The leaves are then dried by blasts of warm air from beneath the trays.
● The dried leaves are passed through a set of rollers to chop them/ the leaves are
crushed.
● The leaves are placed in containers for fermenting, reducing tannic acid and
changing the colour to grey brown.
● The leaves are passed through a conveyor belt which takes them to a tunnel
which is at a temperature of 100C for roasting/ drying/ baking after which they
turn black.
● The leaves are sifted,graded and tested for classification.
● The graded tea is packed in tea chests for export and small packages for local
market.

Marketing of tea
Tea is marketed:
● Through factory door sales.
● Directly to local/ overseas buyers.
● To Kenya Tea Packers Limited ( KETEPA)
● Through Mombasa Tea auction.
Problems facing tea farmers:
● Poor feeder roads in the tea growing areas lead to delays in collection delivery of
the green leaf hence causing wastage.
● Delayed payments/ poor payment for the tea delivered/ mismanagement of
funds lowers the morale of farmers.
● Long drought/ hailstones lead to the destruction of the crop/ lowers the quality
and quantity of the yields.
● Fluctuation of prices in the world market makes it difficult for the farmers to plan
ahead.
● High prices of farm inputs/ high production cost reduces the farmers profit
margins/ leads to low yields as some farmers cannot afford.
● Pests and diseases destroy crops reducing yields.