Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has received Sh700 million loan from French-based Proparco meant for expansion of five of its factories as it seeks to increase production of orthodox tea.
The four factories to benefit from the development financial institution’s funding are Kimunye (Kirinyaga), Gitugi (Murang’a), Imenti (Meru) and Thumaita (Kirinyaga) and Boito.
This comes at a time when the Tea Directorate has been advocating for diversification into orthodox tea which fetches more price at the market than traditional black CTC brand that Kenya is renowned for.
“By financing new production lines of orthodox tea in the four factories, Proparco will contribute to improving the productivity of more than 50,000 smallholder producers who supply as with green leaf,” said KTDA in a joint statement.
This new funding is Proparco’s fourth facility with KTDA in 17 years. The first loans to the agency in 2001 and 2004, led to the construction of four tea processing plants – Kionyo, Gachege, Tegat/Toror and Kapset/Rorok.
In 2015, a new $15 million loan (Sh1.5 billion) was granted for the construction of seven small hydropower plants to supply power to 24 factories managed by KTDA.
The new orthodox processing lines, says KTDA, is a strategic move to reduce overreliance on CTCs teas that will enable farmers to earn more money through product diversification.
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