Government Orders Nationwide Audit of KTDA Factories to Curb Misuse of Farmers’ Funds

Key Highlights:

• Tea Board of Kenya to conduct a full audit of all KTDA factories.
• Move follows widespread complaints over low bonus payments.
• Sh2.7 billion recovered and released to farmers after earlier irregular transactions.
• Government also refunded Sh2 billion for fertilizer and issued Sh3.7 billion to boost factory operations.
• Audit to target misuse of funds by some factory directors accused of unnecessary spending.
• National Assembly reviewing Bill to allow direct tea sales and eliminate middlemen.
• Farmers urged to remain patient as new export markets open in China, Europe, and Iran.

The national government has announced plans to launch a countrywide audit of all Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) factories to uncover how farmers’ money is being spent.

Principal Secretary for Agriculture, Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh, said the exercise will be carried out by the Tea Board of Kenya, following rising complaints from smallholder tea farmers over poor bonus payouts this year.

Speaking at Kericho Technical Training Institute, Dr. Ronoh said the audit aims to promote accountability and restore farmers’ confidence in the tea sector.

“The government remains fully committed to protecting farmers’ interests and ensuring transparency in tea management. Through ongoing programmes, we project that by 2032, Kenya will sell tea at Sh100 per kilo,” said the PS.

He revealed that the government has already recovered Sh2.7 billion previously lost through irregular transactions and released it to farmers through KTDA. In addition, Sh2 billion was refunded for fertilizer costs, and another Sh3.7 billion was disbursed recently to improve factory operations.

Despite these interventions, Dr. Ronoh expressed concern over continued financial mismanagement within some factories, particularly in the West Rift region, where certain directors reportedly held over 165 meetings in a single year, using farmers’ money for non-essential expenses while bonuses remained low.

“We are going to audit all KTDA factories through the Tea Board of Kenya to verify how every loan and fund has been used. Anyone found misusing farmers’ money will face legal action,” he warned.

The PS further disclosed that Parliament is considering a Bill that will enable farmers to sell their tea directly, cutting off middlemen who have long eroded farmer earnings.

He urged farmers to remain calm and avoid uprooting their tea bushes, assuring them that the government is actively expanding global markets for Kenyan tea, including in China, Europe, and Iran, to secure better prices.

“Do not lose hope. The government is working tirelessly to ensure you earn more in the coming season,” he said.

Dr. Ronoh reaffirmed the state’s commitment to restructuring the tea value chain, emphasizing that greater transparency and efficiency will help ensure smallholder farmers across Kenya finally reap fair rewards from their labor.