Government Moves to Revive Nyamache and Itumbe Tea Factories with Sh250 Million Upgrade Plan

The government has pledged to support the revival of Nyamache and Itumbe tea factories in Kisii County through machinery upgrades, tea bush rejuvenation and measures to curb the loss of green leaf to informal traders.

Principal Secretary for Agriculture Dr Paul Kipronoh Ronoh said the government would support a request for Sh250 million to modernise processing equipment at the two factories, subject to a technical team finalising the required specifications.

The proposed investment will include two automatic withering machines, a CTC dryer, new orthodox tea-processing equipment and construction of supporting buildings for the facilities.

Ronoh spoke during a meeting with tea farmers and representatives from Kisii and Nyamira counties in Nairobi after the boards of Nyamache Tea Factory and its satellite, Itumbe Tea Factory, presented a memorandum outlining challenges affecting their operations.

The PS also directed the Tea Board of Kenya to enforce provisions of the Tea Act, 2020, restricting factories from purchasing green leaf from farmers registered with other factories.

The directive targets tea hawking, locally known as mang’ereto, where traders buy green leaf directly from farmers, often offering immediate cash payments.

Farmers and factory officials say the practice has reduced the volume of leaf delivered to the factories, leaving them operating below capacity despite having a sizeable farmer base and strong production potential in the surrounding areas.

Ronoh said the government was also considering an online payment system that could speed up payments to farmers and make informal traders less attractive. The system could be operational within two weeks, he said.

The government has further committed 100,000 tea seedlings for Nyamache smallholder farmers to replace ageing tea bushes. Another 10,000 seedlings will be supplied to each of the 14 tea factories in Kisii and Nyamira counties as part of a wider effort to improve productivity.

Most of the tea bushes supplying Nyamache and Itumbe were planted around the time the factories were established and have now been in production for nearly five decades.

Farmers currently produce an average of about 0.5 kilogrammes of green leaf per bush annually, well below the government’s target of 2.5 kilogrammes through phased replanting with climate-resilient varieties.

Nyamache Tea Factory was commissioned in 1978 by the late President Jomo Kenyatta and became an important processing facility for tea farmers in Bobasi and surrounding areas.

The factory was designed to process about 15 million kilogrammes of green leaf annually, but farmers can deliver up to seven million kilogrammes beyond that capacity during peak production periods.

At peak times, Nyamache receives as much as 60 tonnes of green leaf daily, placing additional pressure on machinery that has seen limited modernisation since the factory was established.

Itumbe was later established as a satellite facility to absorb additional production but has also faced challenges linked to ageing equipment and limited investment.

Ronoh said the factories must complement government support by finding ways to reduce the cost of producing made tea and exploring alternative marketing arrangements that could improve returns to farmers.

He also backed proposals to establish a western-region tea auction, saying the initiative could reduce transportation costs for tea currently moved to the Mombasa auction and improve the competitiveness of tea produced in western Kenya.

Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunication Stephen Motari Isaboke, who led the delegation of farmers from Kisii and Nyamira, welcomed the government’s commitments.

“For the farmers of Bobasi, the hope is that the commitments made in Nairobi will translate into seedlings in their fields, faster payments, modern machinery at the factory, and a stronger market for their tea,” Isaboke said.

A joint technical team comprising officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Kenya Tea Development Agency, research institutions and financial stakeholders is expected to work on the proposed interventions.

For farmers, replacing ageing tea bushes could restore productivity, although the process will require patience as newly planted tea takes time to reach commercial production.

The proposed investments come as older tea factories across the country face growing pressure from ageing infrastructure, declining farm productivity, competition for green leaf and changing tea markets.

The government hopes the planned machinery upgrades, replanting programme and marketing reforms will give Nyamache and Itumbe a new lease of life while improving farmer incomes and sustaining tea production in Kisii and Nyamira.