Timeline of Tea Board of Kenya

Tea cultivation by the white settlers had attained commercial production level:

• African were not allowed to grow tea as it was an exclusive pre-occupation of the Europeans.
• Colonial Government only opened the Highlands for European servicemen.

Tea Ordinance No. 46 of 1934 was revised by the Tea Ordinance, (No. 52 of 1948).

• The objectives of the Tea Ordinance, No. 52 of 1948 was to provide for the control of the production of tea in the Colony.
• The Directorate of Agriculture was responsible for controlling the production of tea by issuing licences and permits to farmers.

The Government appointed committee (Swynnerton Committee) to probe into the African land problems recommend measures for improving African agriculture including opening up of cash crops to Africans.

The first smallholder tea factory was set up in Ragati, (Nyeri County) and was run through a management agreement with multinational tea companies.

Kenya Tea Development Order 1964 was promulgated and Special Crops Development Authority (SCDA) was replaced by Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA)-under the Agriculture Act (Cap 318) Section 91, Legal notice No. 42;

• Kenya Tea Development Authority was privatized through the formation of Kenya Tea Development Agency Ltd. (KTDA) under the Companies Act CAP 486.
• Privatization was also meant to achieve improvement in the management of the tea factories by allowing farmers to play a rightful role in decision-making and attain adequate processing capacity with a view to bridging the gap between takings of the smallholder and large estates at the farm level.

• Establishment of Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) under Section 3 of the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Act, following the operationalization of the Crops Act 2013 that repealed the Acts of parliament establishing the Tea Board of Kenya amongst other state corporations such as Kenya Coconut Development Authority; Kenya Sugar Board; Coffee Board of Kenya; Horticultural Crops Development Authority; Pyrethrum Board of Kenya; Cotton Development Authority; and Kenya Sisal Board.
• According to Sec. 10 of the 1st Schedule of the AFA Act 2013, the respective former institutions become Directorates of the Authority. The regulatory function of the industry was under the AFA-Tea Directorate.
• Due to Bureaucracy in decision making, Structural challenges on AFA Governance structure, the regulatory and institutional framework of the tea industry was weakened.
• There was lack of adequate focus on crops including tea.

Bill considered by the Senate and passed with amendments and thereafter committed to the National Assembly.

Tea Bill 2018 was amended further to incorporate stakeholders’ inputs and concerns raised by H. E the President during his address to the Nation on the 14th January 2020.

The Tea Act 2020, came into effect.