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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 27786, member: 2262"] Mr. Chege Kirundi, the new KTDA National Chairman, has told people about his plans for the agency. He wants to improve the tea business for the small tea farmers that KTDA helps. Over the weekend, Mr. Kirundi talked to more than 160 directors from the west of Rift Valley in Nakuru. He said that his board has changed its focus. The new business saying is "Farmers First." Mr. Kirundi said that the business world has changed since KTDA started in 1964 as a parastatal and became private in 2000. The business must change to fit the new business world. To do this, he said that the board is making new policies and improving the old ones. This will ensure that the farmers get the most out of their tea investment. Most importantly, he said the business must be sustainable in all areas. The chairman said that leadership and talking to everyone involved is very important. This will help fix problems that affect the tea sector. He said that some problems happen because of policies and rules that hurt small tea factories. Some of these would not have happened if leaders had done their job and if everyone, including the government, had talked to each other more. Mr. Kirundi gave an example of the reserve price. This price was only used for KTDA-managed factories and not for the whole tea sector. This has caused problems and made a lot of unsold tea pile up for factories in the west of the rift. He said his board is working with the factory leaders to find ways to fix this problem. The directors were worried about people selling greenleaf tea to other factories. This happens often in the West and worsens the tea quality. The directors decided to tell the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) to ensure that all private tea factories followed the law. If they do not meet the legal standards, their permits to operate should be reviewed again. The chairman asked the directors to ensure they handled things they could control, like delivering good-quality teas. The directors thanked the chairman for the chance to discuss the problems affecting the tea business in the region. Mr. Kirundi promised to talk to the farmers and their leaders often and openly. [/QUOTE]

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