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[QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 79331, member: 636"]
Kenya's agriculture ministry is throwing a 3.5 billion shilling reform package at the tea sector, aiming to fix factory inefficiencies and get farmers paid properly. The Principal Secretary, Paul Ronoh, announced the plan after getting a pretty damning audit report from the Tea Board of Kenya covering 71 factories. The initial phase will target 19 specific factories for modernization.

The audit itself found major problems with governance and financial management across the board, linking these failures directly to late payments and low earnings for growers. Ronoh ordered this review last October after constant complaints from farmers about delays and shady loan handling. The new money is supposed to fund better factory equipment, cut fertilizer costs, and improve irrigation to combat unreliable weather.

Ronoh stressed that fixing the management mess is just as important as the cash infusion. He promised strict timelines for implementing the audit's recommendations, working with the Tea Board and the KTDA. The goal is to stabilize a key export industry that supports millions of smallholders, especially in the Rift Valley, Central, and Western regions.
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