Kenyan growers who produce black tea for British supermarket shelves have warned that climate impacts are damaging crop harvests and further diminishing their already "scarce" household incomes.
asserted
impacts → produce → incomes
The East African nation currently provides half of all black tea consumed across Britain, but local farmers face increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, lower crop yields and quality, alongside escalating operational expenses over recent years.
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farmers → provide → years
These compounding issues have driven up global tea costs, leaving supermarket shoppers in the UK paying noticeably higher prices for their favourite beverage.
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issues → compound → beverage
Yet impoverished farmers at the start of the supply chain see little financial gain from higher market prices.
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farmers → see → prices
Harvesting smaller crops while spending more to maintain them, growers watch as intermediaries, brokers and large corporate firms continue absorbing the vast majority of total profits.
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intermediaries → harvest → profits
Across the western Kenyan regions of Kericho and Bomet, many local agricultural workers say they cannot cover basic family living expenses, let alone invest in essential protective measures to build future climate resilience on their farms.
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they → say → farms
These areas are experiencing severe weather volatility this year, including heavy rainfall during usually dry January periods, unseasonal heat in July, intense storm activity and prolonged drought conditions.
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areas → experience → July
Nelson Ngeno, manager of Fintea, a union of tea farming cooperatives based in Kericho, said farmers are “really scared” as their livelihoods are “cut short” by the changing conditions.
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livelihoods → base → conditions
Production across Fintea’s five cooperatives fell by 30% in May and June this year compared to what their farmers usually harvest during those months, he said.
uncertain
he → fall → months
“Climate is really affecting our farmers,” Mr Ngeno said.
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Ngeno → affect → farmers
“There has been a complete change as far as the weather is concerned.
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weather → concern → ?
In January, an unprecendented hail storm damaged thousands of tea plants in the district of Kabartegan, with Fintea estimating losses of 20,000 to 30,000kg daily over four months as the plants recovered.
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plants → damage → months
Lilian Mutai Levin Langot, from the village of Kesebet, was among some 500 tea farmers who lost significant earnings when the storm wiped out her farm.
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storm → lose → farm
The 48-year-old smallholder farmer told the Press Association: “It was scary.
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It → tell → Association
The hailstones hit everything.
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hailstones → hit → everything
On the tea plants, only the stems remained.
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stems → remain → plants
“I could not pick anything.
uncertain
I → pick → anything
It meant there was no income.
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It → mean → ?
We just had to survive.”
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We → have → ?
While she normally earns around 120,000 Kenyan Shillings (Kes) annually (£692), this will likely drop to no more than 90,000 Kes (£520) in 2026.
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this → earn → 2026
Ms Langot said she has taken out a loan to get through the year but has still struggled to pay for healthcare fees, school fees for her son and the upkeep of her infant granddaughter.
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she → say → granddaughter
And having bought a cow and calf to diversify her income, the farmer said she was unable to buy enough feed, so the cow stopped producing milk, and both eventually died.
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both → buy → milk
“It was so hard,” she said, adding that she is “very worried” about such a storm happening again.
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storm → say → ?
“It will be so bad on us,” she said.
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she → say → us
“When we see the rain, we are just hoping: ‘Don’t let it be the hailstones.
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it → see → rain
Meanwhile, Paul Kipsigei Koech, 50, who lives in nearby Chepchabas, told PA that he is earning so little from his tea farm that he can only provide one meal of mushed-up maize each day for his seven children, wife and elderly father.
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he → live → children
Extreme weather events are now happening “once a year”, he said.
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he → happen → ?
“You can’t predict like we usually do in the previous (years).”
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we → predict → years
This, alongside the rising cost of living, is putting further pressure on his ability to make ends meet, with his current income sitting at around 3,000 to 4,000 Kes (£17 to £23) a month, equivalent to less than £1 a day.
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income → rise → 1
“The income is really low to support the entire family,” he said, adding that he is also 80,000 Kes (£462) in debt.
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he → support → debt
It is very scarce,” he said.
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he → say → ?
Asked what he would spend the money on if he received a higher price for his produce, Mr Koech said he would pay the fees so his children – the youngest of which is six – could go to school and eventually help to support the family.
uncertain
youngest → ask → family
“I do not want them to come back to pick tea.
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them → want → tea
I want them to go forward and even get different jobs than what I do,” he said.
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he → want → what
Meanwhile, Gladys Maiywa, 50, also from Chepchabas, also earns around 3,000 Kes (£17) a month to support her eight children and sometimes less depending on the weather.
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Maiywa → earn → weather
She similarly has sunk 19,000 Kes (£109) in debt to pay for school fees and has an overdraft in the bank of 3,000 Kes.
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She → sink → Kes
“It’s very difficult,” she said.
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she → ’ → ?
“If we get droughts for one, two or three months, we don’t get money.
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we → get → money
We can’t harvest anything.”
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We → harvest → anything
Ms Maiywa said she would spend additional income on her children, their education and build a new home to replace the basic hut they all currently live in.
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they → say → hut
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
