Tea farmers linked to Wakenya Pamoja Sacco get Ksh.862M bonus

Tea farmers affiliated to Wakenya Pamoja savings and credit cooperative society have received a total of Ksh.862million bonus this year.

The Sacco’s CEO Isaac Omwenga said they recorded an increment of Ksh.12 million up from what was paid last year.

Speaking in Kisii on Wednesday, Omwenga said they had projected to pay over a Ksh.1billion but the harsh weather conditions experienced this year affected tea production and consequently farmers’ bonus.

He noted that challenges such as farmers hawking their produce to multinational companies also reduced tea leaves delivered to Kenya Tea Development Agency factories.

The officer further expressed his concern about farmers who fail to pay loans in time because of hawking their tea, saying the Sacco has sometimes been forced to use guarantors to recover the money.

He urged farmers who secured loans from the Sacco to use other sources of income to repay them to avoid such incidences in the future.

Omwenga also appealed to the farmers to find ways of increasing their production, plan before they secure loans and invest in viable projects that will increase their profits and enable them repay in good time.