Why Ngere tea factory has been awarded by Murang'a

Murang'a farmer Mary Wambui, 63, recently installed a biogas system that caters to her daily cooking needs.

For years, she struggled to collect firewood for cooking in her kitchen in Mbugiti, Gatanga subcounty.

The biogas system has made her life significantly easier as it eliminates the need to keep pruning trees in her farm for firewood or refill her 6kg cooking gas cylinder.

The system has kept her kitchen clean without the soot that is produced by firewood and the clutter of firewood.

But she explained that the project would not have been possible without the annual tea bonus she received for her tea produce.

The elderly farmer has about 400 tea bushes in her farm that produce about 1,000 kilogrammes annually when the rainfall is average.

This year, Wambui received Sh57,000 as her annual bonus payment, which helped her procure the biogas system.

“There is no other activity I do in my farm that would have given me such money. I have been planning to invest in this system since the beginning of the year [2025],” the progressive granny said.

With monthly payments of about Sh2,000, she pays her picker about Sh1,000, leaving her with the remainder to support herself.

Luckily, Wambui has kept a dairy cow that provides her with milk for consumption and a little extra for sale to neighbours, complementing her income.

Further, Wambui gets most of her dietary needs from her farm, which is awash with indigenous vegetables that grow as weeds and foods such as arrow roots, sweet potatos and cassava.

The farmer sells her tea through Ngere tea factory, the largest in the county, and which has emerged as one of the best nationally among the factories managed by KTDA.

With more than 9,000 farmers, the factory paid farmers about Sh2 billion in annual bonuses in October, drastically impacting the local economy.

The factory’s chairperson James Githinji announced that it paid the highest amount amongst the 10 factories in the county and emerged fifth nationally.

This, he said, was occasioned by good governance and the high quality produce delivered by farmers, which has enabled the produce to fetch high prices in the auction.

“We paid farmers Sh25 per kilogramme in monthly payments and Sh57 per kilogramme in annual bonuses. Our factory has risen nationally from the ninth position we held last year and will continue doing better,” he said.

Githinji, who is also the Zone Two KTDA board member, said Murang’a county emerged the best in tea payments nationally with Sh13 billion paid to farmers, followed by Meru with Sh9 billion.

The high payment saw the factory earn an award for the best-performing tea factory in the county from the county government.

Governor Irungu Kang’ata, who presented the award at Ihura stadium on Thursday, observed that tea farming is one of the main cash crops depended on by residents and is crucial to the economy.

He praised the factory for ensuring farmers earn good payments, helping them to sustain their families and educate their children while driving local economies.

The award, he said, is aimed at encouraging healthy competition among the factories with the aim of further raising the quality and quantity of tea produced and seeking better markets.

Githinji explained that the factory has been relentlessly seeking buyers for its produce while establishing various products to boost sales.

As such, a part of its produce is not sold through the auction and is directly bought from the factory by buyers in direct sales.

Legally, direct sales are required to fetch higher prices than the average auction prices, guaranteeing better returns for farmers.

“This also ensures that our tea that is sold through the Mombasa auction is not too bulky and is therefore easily sold,” he said.

Further, an orthodox plant has been installed and operationalised this December, with buyers trooping to the factory to sample the product as mass production is expected to start this month.

“The buyers have confirmed that the orthodox tea is of good quality and we hope to enter into agreements with them to buy it once we start mass production," Githinji said.

"This will further reduce the amount of Black CTC tea being sold through the Mombasa auction.”

This happens as the national government streamlines the orthodox tea auction in Mombasa that was started in September, laying the groundwork for enhanced specialty tea sales.

In 2024, farmers produced 7.51 million kilos of orthodox tea, of which 5 million kilos were exported. Overall, 598 million kilos were produced, earning Sh215.21 billion.

John Kamau, the factory’s vice chairperson, commended the county administration for the award, which he said will motivate farmers to work harder.

“Now they have seen the fruits of our insistence on high quality so they will work harder. As a board, we will continue facilitating good governance.”

The factory’s manager Patrick Karanja said the array of products has diversified sales, ensuring even local farmers are encouraged to buy the value-added product.

“Our main products are Black CTC and now Black Orthodox teas, but under Black CTC, we have all tea grades and others that are flavoured with ginger and lemon, mainly for the local market.”

Last year, the factory was awarded by the Tea Board of Kenya for producing the third-highest valued tea in the Commercial Manufacture Category.