The Case for Herbal Tea Farming : Kenya

 The Vision 2030 is Kenya's  long term development blue print covering the period 2008 to 2030. The Vision aims to transform Kenya into a middle income country providing high quality life to it citizens. It identifies agriculture as one of the sectors to drive the county in the journey to Vision 2030.

For Kenya to compete with the best in other parts of the world, increased value in agriculture  needs  to be achieved through processing and value addition of agricultural produce before they reach the global market place . This requires that all agricultural commodities including crop production, livestock production, aquaculture, forestry and forest products, and wildlife. and enterprises be highly productive, commercially oriented and competitive at all levels.

Kenya's agricultural commodities  are grouped into two categories, food crops and industrial crops, . Food crops include cereals, pulses, roots and tubers. Industrial crops include tea, coffee, sugarcane, cotton, sunflower, pyrethrum, barley, tobacco, sisal, coconut and bixa, all which contribute about 55% of the agricultural exports.

Tea is particularly of significant importance to the economy of Kenya. It contributes about 4% of the county’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is the leading export earner at about 20 percent. It is an important source of livelihoods to over 5 million people and a key driver of economic wealth creation  .

Whilst Kenya is the third largest tea producing country in the world and the leading exporter of black tea, she remains vulnerable to market shocks due to over reliance on one type of tea product. The country mainly exports black CTC tea as opposed to developing a greater variety in its tea value chain. Kenya’s tea is also largely used for blending lower quality teas from other tea producing countries. As a result, it fetches lower prices resulting ultimately in diminished revenue to farmers and processors; and a low foreign exchange income for the country. Furthermore, Kenya’s tea industry has matured. Any mature industry typically has a growth rate of about 5 percent characterized by stagnant (inelastic) prices and diminishing marginal returns.

Recognizing the importance expanding Kenya’s the tea product base, Kenya could  aim to promote and guide investment decisions for the manufacture of high value specialty teas especially herbal teas. The country could  promote product diversification based on market intelligence and consumer preferences for the great range of choices in herbal tea products. Kenya can also  promote secondary tea product processing, branding, profiling and packaging; and promote establishment of cottage factories for manufacture of herbal tea products.

The world tea market is growing with an emerging variety of customer needs and tea consumers are becoming more selective and of the preferred varieties of herbal teas.  Herbal tea is really just an infusion of leaves, seeds, roots or bark, extracted in hot water. In drinking a well-steeped herbal tea, we get all the plant’s benefits in an easily digestible form. They are reported to have medicinal properties apart from offering tea drinkers  refreshment and satisfaction .

The world renown herbal tea varieties include peppermint tea,chamomile tea, rooibos tea, ginger tea, rooibos tea, lemon balm tea, milk thistle and dandelion, tea, and rosehip tea among many others that could  easily be found or grown within Kenya. 

The most popular among these varieties - Chamomile is a fast growing annual flower, easily grown from seed. The white-petalled daisy flowers are about 2cm wide. These fragrant flowers make it a great addition to any sensory garden and attract beneficial pollinating insects. It makes an attractive ground cover and can be planted in pots or garden beds.

Lemon Balm tea also  known as the ‘happy herb’ ( it helps you stop feeling sad and blue!) is  nature’s anti-depressant herb. ‘Balm’ means to lesson pain, soothe and heal. Lemon balm soothes the nervous system and lifts the spirits. In this age of stress, it’s a must have herb to grow in a pot or your garden

These teas offer Kenya a great opportunity to come out her tea export blues. 

Kennedy Gumbe
www.trd.co.ke