Tea farmers attached to various factories in Kericho County are set to receive bonuses ranging from Sh16 to Sh34 per kilogramme for the 2025/2026 financial year, according to a tea bonus schedule circulating among farmers. The schedule places Momul Tea Factory at the highest rate of Sh34 per kilogramme, followed by Kapkatet and Tebesonik at Sh25 each.

The schedule shows that Tirgaga Tea Factory will pay Sh22 per kilogramme, while Motigo, Oleng and Chelal are listed at Sh20 each. Tegat and Toror follow at Sh19 per kilogramme, while Litein is listed at Sh18. The remaining factories in the schedule are Kapkoros at Sh17, with Kapset, Rorok, Mogogo, Boito and Kobel each listed at Sh16 per kilogramme.

If applied to farmers’ individual deliveries, the rates mean the bonus amount received by a grower will depend on the quantity of green leaf supplied during the financial year. For example, a farmer with 1,000 kilogrammes of qualifying deliveries at a Sh34 rate would receive Sh34,000, while the same quantity at a Sh16 rate would amount to Sh16,000.

The figures come at a time when the national government is implementing reforms aimed at improving earnings for tea farmers and strengthening the tea value chain. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development says the reforms are focused on improving efficiency, increasing value addition, reducing production costs and putting more value in the hands of farmers.

The Ministry has also identified payment of farmers as one of the issues affecting the smallholder tea subsector. Its draft Kenya Tea Industry Policy notes that the level and regularity of monthly and bonus payments have been a concern for growers, with inadequate returns affecting the ability of some farmers to sustain tea production.

Under the Tea Registration and Licensing Regulations, 2024, monthly payments to growers are linked to proceeds from the sale of tea. The regulations provide that the monthly green-leaf price is calculated using 50 per cent of monthly tea-sale proceeds divided by the total quantity of green leaf delivered during the month, while the balance due to the grower from annual proceeds is paid in accordance with the Tea Act.

The government has in recent years increased its engagement with tea farmers and factory management over payments, production and marketing. In November 2024, Agriculture Principal Secretary Dr Kipronoh Ronoh led farmer engagements in Meru and Bomet as part of efforts to address challenges in the tea value chain, including disputes over bonus payments.

In May 2025, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe held consultations with chairpersons of KTDA-managed smallholder tea factories from the West of Rift region in Kericho. He said the government was working to revitalise the tea sector, increase productivity and raise farmers’ incomes through measures including value addition and improved agricultural extension services.

The government has also linked better farmer earnings to improved tea quality and value addition. During the 2025 consultations in Kericho, Kagwe said farmers should concentrate on producing quality tea, particularly the two leaves and a bud, which he said attracts better returns in international markets.

More recently, Agriculture Principal Secretary Dr Kipronoh Ronoh said the government was continuing with reforms to improve efficiency, value addition, marketing and returns to tea farmers. In September 2026, he said scientific tea testing was ready to become fully operational and that a Digital Green Leaf Payment System was expected to be rolled out to make payments more transparent and efficient.

The government is also supporting farmers through measures aimed at lowering production costs. In September, the Ministry said subsidised fertiliser was being made available to small-scale farmers at Sh2,000 for a 50-kilogramme bag, while KTDA was urged to expedite distribution and increase farmer sensitisation ahead of the expected rains.

Momul, Kapkatet, Tebesonik, Tirgaga, Motigo, Oleng, Chelal, Tegat, Toror and Litein are among the tea factories serving farmers in the Kericho tea-growing region. KTDA identifies Chelal, Kapkatet, Litein, Momul, Tegat and Toror among its factories in Kericho County, with Chelal serving as a satellite of Litein Tea Factory.

The bonus schedule therefore comes as an important development for tea-growing households as farmers await their annual payments. However, the specific Sh16–Sh34 rates shown in the supplied image should be treated as a circulating schedule until confirmed by KTDA, the relevant factory boards or the Tea Board of Kenya, since the government sources reviewed confirm the broader payment and reform framework but do not publish this particular 2025/2026 factory-by-factory rate table.

 by Humphrey Edwin