Relief for Kirinyaga tea farmers as Sh3bn road nears completion

Tea farmers in Kirinyaga county will benefit from the long-awaited upgrade of the Kagumo–Kiamaina–Gathuthuma Road, easing decades of disrupted tea collection and transport to factories.

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The road forms part of the wider Mutira–Kagumo–Kiamaina–Gathuthuma corridor being upgraded to bitumen standards under a Sh3.07 billion national government contract covering several interlinked roads in the county.

The Kagumo–Kiamaina–Gathuthuma stretch is aboutnine kilometres and falls within a larger 17.35-kilometre package.

Although the project was initially scheduled for completion in July 2022 and later revised to February 2024, progress slowed due to funding delays causing it to stall in 2024.

By mid last year, the works resumed, and the project was reported to be about 70 per cent complete following the state’s decision to pay part of the Sh290 million owed to the contractor, and sections were opened up to ease movement.

John Githua, a resident, said the road project will significantly boost agriculture by improving access that had remained a problem for tea farmers in the area.

“Walking with tea baskets on our backs to the collection centres has been an issue for many years. Many of us would slide and fall, spilling our produce on the road,” he said, noting that the poor state of the road had occasioned them repeated losses.

For years, tea collection trucks from Mununga tea factory that serves about 9,500 smallholder farmers struggled to reach buying centres, especially during the rainy season when the road would become impassable and farmers would wait for hours for tea trucks to arrive.

Githua said during heavy rains, farmers would be forced to use alternative collection points, a process that was both exhausting and time-consuming.

Mary Nyaguthii, another small-scale farmer, said delays in collection frequently led to tea leaves overstaying at buying centres or even in farmers’ homes, affecting quality and earnings.

“The road has been significantly delaying the collection of tea, causing substantial economic losses for small-scale farmers. Sometimes the vehicles fail to show up and we are forced to go back home with our tea leaves,” she said.

According to farmers, the poor road network has also forced them to use longer alternative routes, increasing transport costs and logistical challenges whenever collection vehicles could not access their areas.

The Kagumo–Kiamaina–Gathuthuma road is a major infrastructure initiative under the national government’s roads rehabilitation programme aimed at upgrading rural access roads to bitumen standards.

Once complete, the project is expected to enhance connectivity between tea-growing zones and factories, while also linking farmers to markets, schools and health facilities.

Beyond tea, the improved road is expected to benefit coffee and dairy farmers who form the backbone of Kirinyaga’s economy.

Reduced transport costs and faster movement of goods are projected to increase farm-gate returns and encourage agribusiness growth in the area.

Josephine Kimani, a small trader, said better roads will also stimulate small enterprises along the corridor, as easier access attracts transporters, input suppliers, and other service providers.

“We are optimistic that our lives will change for the better once the road is completed and that it will mark a turning point for our agricultural economy.”