The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) on Tuesday signed 3.5 billion shillings($30 million) financing deal with Standard Chartered Bank for the purchase of 95,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer to be distributed to KTDA tea farmers across the country.
The deal, which is part of KTDA’s fertilizer supply program for farmers, will see over 650,000 farmers who own the 69 factories that KTDA manages benefit from supply of fertilizer through the arrangement.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Nairobi, KTDA Group Chief Executive Officer, Lerionka Tiampati, said that the move will help farmers access affordable fertilizer that will go towards improving the quality and yield of their tea.
“We are pleased to be signing this partnership with Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited as it will enable us acquire fertilizer which we will be distributed to our farmers at the most competitive rates we can obtain. The fertilizer will assist farmers improve the yield and quality of their green leaf,” he said.
“This fits well with our long-term strategic objective to continuously work towards providing smallholder tea farmers with a wide-range of cost-effective solutions for their everyday farming requirements,” he added.
In entering into the arrangement, KTDA is leveraging on economies of scale afforded to it by its size to obtain the most competitively priced fertilizer in an international open tender.
The fertilizer is set to arrive in July and August for subsequent distribution to farmers for their use at the onset of the short rains.
JK/abj/APA