Baseline Study for the Reclaim Sustainability! Tea Project (Kenya and Uganda)
Tea value chains in Kenya and Uganda are dominated by private actors whose business models are mostly not inclusive. Weak regulation and weak civil society hold back fair value distribution and decent work.
Overview
Baseline for the Reclaim Sustainability! Tea project (2021-2025), implemented by Solidaridad East and Central Africa with FairFood and TrustAfrica and funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The study was conducted in Kisii, Bomet, Kericho and Nandi counties (Kenya) and Lugazi, Rukungiri, Kanungu and Fort Portal districts (Uganda). It set baseline values for the programme's results framework and described the starting situation for private sector actors, public sector frameworks and civil society. It covers four themes: fair value distribution, decent work, sustainable natural resource management and sustainable consumption. The report was submitted on 30 September 2021.
Key findings
- Tea earns about 20% (Kenya) and 3% (Uganda) of export earnings and gives direct income to more than 7.5 million people in Kenya and over 1 million in Uganda.
- Most tea is sold through the Mombasa auction (75% in Kenya, 83% in Uganda). Direct sales are 15% and 10% respectively. Kenya's average auction price fell from USD 2.04/kg in 2019 to USD 1.93/kg in 2020.
- In Uganda, out-growers average 1,464 kg of made tea per hectare, against up to 4,000 kg on estates and a potential of 5,000 kg. Smallholders own 5 of the country's 36 tea factories.
- Kenya's Tea Act 2020 is not fully in force: five draft regulations await public participation and gazettement, and court cases challenge sections of the Act. Uganda's regulatory framework is weaker, and its 2018 draft National Tea Policy has not been adopted.
- Workers on smallholder farms in both countries are not unionised, which exposes them to labour rights violations. In Kenya, outsourcing has cut casual workers' monthly pay from KES 38,000 to an average of KES 18,000.
- The main CSOs (KPAWU, KUSTO, NUPAWU) advocate for fair value distribution and decent work but have limited administrative and strategic capacity.
- The baseline value for every results-framework indicator was 0 in both countries.
In figures
1,464 kg made tea per hectare
4,000 kg made tea per hectare
Data table
| Item | kg made tea per hectare |
|---|---|
| Out-growers | 1,464 |
| Estates (up to) | 4,000 |
| Potential | 5,000 |
Recommendations
- Develop a tea value addition and product diversification strategy, including specialty and orthodox teas and value-addition Common User Facilities.
- Build the capacity of CSOs to start social enterprises so they can keep up their advocacy for decent work, and strengthen their ability to take part in public-private dialogue.
- Support enforcement of labour laws on working conditions and protective gear, especially at farm level, and lobby for a review of minimum wages for agricultural workers.
- Implement and enforce environmental policies that favour vertical rather than horizontal expansion of tea, together with water and land conservation frameworks.
- Develop frameworks to measure certification premiums and distribute them fairly along the value chain, and implement a price stabilisation framework for farmers.
- Advocate for bilateral engagement to diversify markets and direct sales. In Kenya, review the Tea Act 2020 to bring back direct sales and involve county governments more.
- In Uganda, set up a policy coordination platform across ministries, the private sector, farmer organisations and local governments, and develop national tea sustainability standards.
Methodology
Mixed methods: desk review of programme, government and sector documents, plus purposive in-depth key informant interviews with tea stakeholders in Kenya and Uganda. Sample size was set by data saturation. Quantitative data were analysed with means and percentages, and qualitative data by thematic content analysis.