Ktda pundit interesting thread

[KenyanPlato]

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Former KTDA Worker Raphael Mworia Speaks

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I worked for 12yrs in @KTDATea  between 1995 and 2007. I joined when KTDA was a parastatal under the Min. Of Agriculture.
Come the year 2000, KTDA was privatised. This was after concerted effort by farmer representatives.

— Marvin, WordSmith ✍🏽 (@MarvinGakunyi) September 25, 2020

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[RV Pundit]

Farmers in my area rejected minus reforms despite low bonus they don't want gov inter ference

[RV Pundit]

The visionary karanja deserves a huge mention.He is the father of ktda

[KenyanPlato]

The visionary karanja deserves a huge mention.He is the father of ktda

Yes someone needs to properly document this and write about our successes. Karanja did a lot. Those were kikuyus that through meritocracy worked in colonial private sector and transfered those skills to the cooperatives and parastatals .

[KenyanPlato]

Farmers in my area rejected minus reforms despite low bonus they don't want gov inter ference

Farmers are very smart and can sniff a bad deal. They know this history clearly and the good thing is that in rural areas you tend to have a very diverse elite so consultations eventually lead to proper conclusions. Politicians think they have found a campaign issue but framers know politicians are messy. In my area farmers do not pay attention to siasa. They vote and go back to the farm.

[RV Pundit]

Exactly. Kenya tea has been a sucess because of this. The refusal to allow shenagians esp from politician taking advantage of global tea glut. And in our place - people have so many choices - and always KTDA wins. KTDA despite all that - still pay the most.

Farmers are very smart and can sniff a bad deal. They know this history clearly and the good thing is that in rural areas you tend to have a very diverse elite so consultations eventually lead to proper conclusions. Politicians think they have found a campaign issue but framers know politicians are messy. In my area farmers do not pay attention to siasa. They vote and go back to the farm.

[RV Pundit]

Yes Charles Karanja was instrumental in KTDA - it helped he had Jomo Kenyatta ear.
https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft8p3008fh&chunk.id=d0e3425&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e3425&brand=ucpress
When Charles Karanja joined the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) in 1964, it was small and young but firmly established. Its structure had been deeply influenced by the historical moment of its creation. Although the organization was to take on additional features in the future, it kept most of its initial structural characteristics. These were a major factor in its accomplishments.

The KTDA is a success by almost any criteria of assessment. In 1959 the 1,000 hectares of tea grown by some 5,000 smallholders produced only one-fifteenth as much as Kenya's multinational tea estates. In 1980 the KTDA was servicing 130,000 growers with 50,000 hectares (110,000 acres), sold half of the country's tea exports, and had come to represent 5 percent of the international market. In the process the KTDA probably has become the world's largest tea corporation.

The KTDA also excelled in quality. In 1959 Kenyan teas commanded prices 14 percent below the average London price; by 1971 they brought the world's highest prices, at 6 percent above the average. This leadership in quality has been maintained ever since.

The organization has been immensely profitable for Kenya and its growers. The World Bank estimated that the KTDA achieved a 28 per-

https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft8p3008fh&chunk.id=d0e4465&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e4403&brand=ucpress

Yes someone needs to properly document this and write about our successes. Karanja did a lot. Those were kikuyus that through meritocracy worked in colonial private sector and transfered those skills to the cooperatives and parastatals .