Every tea bonus season in Kenya seems to come with its own share of disappointments and promises of a better future. While for some farmers the annual second payment is a welcome financial boost after months of tending to their tea bushes and delivering green leaf to factories, for others, it is a painful reminder that the returns from their (hard) labour are becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
This year’s bonus declarations were no different. While some farmers received as much as KSh50 per kilogramme of green leaf, others went home with as little as KSh12.50. Naturally, the disparities triggered anger, questions about factory management and renewed demands for government intervention.
And now, President William Ruto is promising to address the problem.
Speaking to residents at Makairo Market in West Mugirango Constituency, Nyamira County, the President pledged to ensure tea farmers across the country receive fair and equal bonuses. He attributed some of the differences in farmers’ earnings to outdated factory machinery, which he said contributes to inefficiencies and higher production costs.
His proposed solution is to modernise the factories, improve efficiency and reduce production costs so that farmers can receive more from their produce.
On the surface, this sounds like exactly what farmers need. Nobody would argue against modernising ageing factories or reducing the costs involved in processing tea. But the uncomfortable question is why are we having this conversation after farmers have already received their bonuses?
Why are farmers always waiting for the next season?
The problems affecting Kenya’s tea sector are hardly new discoveries. Outdated machinery, high energy costs, factory management challenges and regional disparities have been discussed for years. They did not emerge overnight, and certainly did not become visible only after the 2025/2026 bonus declarations.
In fact, the government had already announced plans to modernise tea factories months before the latest bonuses were released.
In May 2026, the government announced plans to mobilise KSh4.5 billion towards modernising tea processing facilities and expanding value addition. By September, another government announcement put the proposed modernisation and value addition programme at KSh10 billion, with KSh4.5 billion said to have been disbursed across the programme, including fertiliser subsidies.
Then, on October 9, when announcing the release of the annual bonuses, the President acknowledged the disparity in farmers’ earnings and spoke of KSh850 million allocated to support 17 factories.
The latest pledge, made in November, includes KSh3.7 billion towards struggling factories in the East and West of the Rift Valley, comprising KSh1.2 billion already released and a further KSh2.5 billion proposed for the next financial year.
These announcements raise a fundamental question about implementation. If the government already knew that outdated machinery and expensive factory operations were eating into farmers’ earnings, why did these interventions not translate into meaningful improvements before the latest bonus payments were calculated?
Farmers cannot keep being told to wait for the next financial year, the next budget, the next factory upgrade or the next bonus season.
The annual bonus is not a political gift. It is the second payment arising from the tea farmers’ produce and the performance of the factories processing and marketing it. These are people who have invested their everything into an agricultural value chain that generates billions of shillings for the country, and who therefore deserve more than promises that keep moving from one season to another.
One of the more troubling aspects of the tea bonus debate is how quickly farmers’ earnings become a political issue whenever the figures are announced.
Leaders visit tea growing regions, address farmers, express outrage over disparities and promise to fix the sector. Politicians who were relatively quiet while farmers struggled with production costs suddenly have plenty to say when bonus figures are released and public dissatisfaction becomes impossible to ignore.
There is nothing wrong with leaders advocating for farmers because it is infact their duty. But there is a difference between genuine intervention and turning farmers’ economic struggles into an opportunity for political visibility.
The 2025/2026 bonuses were released in October. Farmers have received their payments and the immediate public debate will eventually move on to other issues. The next annual bonus cycle is still months away. By the time those payments are announced, today’s outrage may have faded and farmers may once again find themselves listening to familiar assurances about what the government intends to do.
This is precisely why promises need timelines, measurable targets and public accountability.
If KSh1.2 billion has already been released for factory modernisation, which factories have benefited? What machinery is being replaced? How much will production costs come down? When will farmers begin seeing the difference in their payments?
And perhaps most importantly, what happens if these targets are not met?
Farmers should not have to wait until another bonus season to discover whether the promises made today were worth anything.
The KSh37.50 difference that tells a bigger story
Consider the disparity in this year’s bonus payments.
Rukuriri Tea Factory in Embu declared KSh50 per kilogramme, while Kaptumo Tea Factory in Nandi declared KSh12.50. That is a difference of KSh37.50 for every kilogramme of green leaf delivered.
For a farmer delivering 1,000 kilogrammes, the difference translates to KSh37,500.
For a farmer delivering 5,000 kilogrammes, it is KSh187,500.
These are not insignificant amounts, particularly in rural households where tea farming is the primary source of income.
It is important to acknowledge that tea bonuses are not determined by factory machinery alone. Auction prices, exchange rates, production volumes, operating costs, management decisions and factory performance all influence the final amount. Different factories also face different operating conditions.
However, that is precisely why the government and the relevant industry institutions need to provide farmers with a transparent explanation of how these figures are arrived at.
Farmers deserve to understand why their neighbours in another tea growing region are receiving substantially higher payments for the same crop.
Kenya cannot afford to take its farmers for granted.
There is a bigger economic conversation that often gets lost in the annual tea bonus debate.
Agriculture remains one of the most important pillars of Kenya’s economy. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ National Agriculture Production Report 2025, the sector contributed 22.5 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2024. It also supports livelihoods across rural communities and generates foreign exchange through exports such as tea, coffee, horticultural produce and flowers.
Tea alone is a major export earner. According to the 2026 Economic Survey, Kenya earned approximately KSh187.1 billion from tea exports in 2025.
Yet, despite the sector’s importance, the people at the beginning of this value chain often have the least control over the decisions that determine how much they earn.
Kenya is not an oil rich economy. We cannot build our economic future around vast petroleum reserves or an abundance of commercially exploited minerals. Our strength has historically come from the land, the people who work it and the agricultural products that find markets beyond our borders.
Tea, coffee, horticulture and other agricultural products are not just commodities. They support households, sustain rural economies, create employment and bring foreign currency into the country.
This makes the treatment of farmers an economic question, not merely a political or agricultural one.
What is the point of celebrating Kenya’s position as a major tea producer if the people growing that tea cannot consistently earn a decent living from it? Or announcing billions in agricultural interventions if farmers cannot see a corresponding improvement in their income?
And what happens to the country’s agricultural competitiveness when farmers begin questioning whether it is still worthwhile to maintain their crops?
The 2026 Economic Survey recorded a 7.8 per cent decline in green leaf tea production in 2025 compared with 2024. While production is influenced by several factors, including weather and other growing conditions, declining incentives and poor returns are hardly the kind of environment that encourages farmers to invest more in their crops.
Modernisation is necessary, but accountability is more important
There is no question that Kenya’s tea factories need investment. Modern machinery, cheaper energy, better management and improved value addition could make a significant difference to the sector.
But factory modernisation should not be presented as a favour to farmers. It is a necessary investment in an industry that contributes substantially to the country’s economy.
Equally important is ensuring that the benefits of these investments actually reach the growers. Lower production costs should translate into improved returns, not simply better financial statements or more comfortable factory operations.
The government must also address the wider structural challenges facing the sector, including transparency in factory management, the cost of production, the marketing of Kenyan tea and the distribution of earnings.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency, factory boards, the Ministry of Agriculture and the government all have responsibilities in this conversation. Farmers should not be left handling a complicated system without clear information about how their money is being managed.
Kenya’s tea farmers do not need another season of promises but a system that works, factories that are efficient, transparent management and payments that fairly reflect the value of their produce.
If the government is serious about ensuring that farmers receive the full value of their hard work, it should start by demonstrating what is changing, where it is changing and when farmers can expect to see the results.
The truth is tea bushes do not wait for election seasons or budget announcements to grow. Farmers work throughout the year. Their livelihoods deserve the same consistency from the people entrusted with managing the industry.
