For many tea famers around the world like Benson, ‘the challenge with tea farming is the fluctuating prices… it is impossible to make a profit when tea prices are low’. Fairtrade sales are important, so that farmers and their family have access to a steady income.
As a small-scale farmer he bought ¾ acre of land. Buying his first tea seedlings from the factory, he started to supply tea to Rukuriri after just three years, growing one hundred tea bushes (800 kilograms on average per year).
Benson has been working at Rukuriri for 30 years in different roles. He has been a tea farmer since 1996 and now is also a dairy cow farmer. The pandemic has affected the Kenyan tea market dramatically and profits are low. Benson did not lose his job during the peak of the pandemic, but his wife was working in a hotel and unfortunately was made redundant. To combat the spread of the virus, ‘Fairtrade provided us with face masks, both employees and farmers. They also bought and distributed sanitisers. This helped in the Creating tea opportunities for the youth
The young people in Rukuriri have little interest in tea farming because the land allotted is rarely large enough to grow enough tea. Young people tend to inherit small pieces of
land that are divided amongst siblings by their parents. The number of stems can be too few to meet the minimum requirement to process at the tea factory. To encourage more young people into tea farming, the new management at the factory is reducing the number of stems needed for processing from 500 to 200. This means that more farmers can make money from tea as small parcels of ‘land is a limiting factor for the youth’.
Diversifying income
Farmers in Rukuriri benefit from a revolving fund that is financed through Fairtrade Premium; access to credit is important for farmers investing in their farms and having a more stable business. This is important as the income of tea farmers is severely bruised due to the climate crisis and the pandemic. Benson explains, ‘We get the loans at low interest and this has been of great help.’ He also says the ‘Fairtrade Premium has improved our livelihoods as farmers and workers. The money we would have contributed for the construction of buying centres can be utilised for other needs.’
Benson has also benefitted from a new ‘posho mill’ nearby, where Factory members can grind maize into flour. Before, he had to walk six kilometres to the nearest mill. With less time required to walk to the mill, he can invest his time in other tasks such as caring for his dairy cows.
Benson has also been supported by Waitrose’s consistent buying through his dairy project, as the Fairtrade Factory have funded veterinary services that provide good quality artificial insemination, meaning more cows and diversity of income for more farmers
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