Kenya

Kenya is the world’s third-largest tea producer.

Tea is critical to Kenya’s economy, contributing nearly a quarter of its foreign exchange earnings.

According to the ‘Tea Industry Performance Report for 2024’, output is up 50% since 2015 and export earnings have risen by 34% over the same period. The country has over 650,000 smallholder farmers, who produce about half of its tea (48-52%).

Large estates, many run by multinational companies, contribute around 24% of total production, while independent tea producers account for the remaining 23%.

Together, these actors form one of the world’s most dynamic tea industries, yet many farmers and workers still face economic and social challenges despite the sector’s global importance.

Regional priorities

ETP in Kenya works to make the tea sector fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable. Key priorities include:

Empowering farmers, workers, and communities to claim their rights and build resilient livelihoods.
Increasing representation of women, youth, and other underrepresented groups in decision-making.
Supporting access to gender-responsive services and reducing gender-based violence.
Strengthening community capacity and systemic engagement with county governments and industry to improve policies.

Facts & figures

Smallholder tea farmers often earn very little after factory deductions, high input costs, and labour expenses.
A tea farmer has on average 0.5 acres of land under tea and earns as little as USD 700 annually.
The earnings remain insufficient for most farmers to thrive, and many continue to live in a cycle of vulnerability and low income.

Women make up around 60% of Kenya’s tea workforce.
However, they are concentrated in low-paid field roles, while men dominate technical and supervisory positions in factories.
This inequality limits women’s access to better income and decision-making roles in the sector.

Climate change poses a profound and escalating threat to the sustainability, productivity, and livelihoods within Kenya’s tea sector.
For smallholder farmers, who are paid per kilogram of green leaf, any weather-induced yield loss translates directly into lower household income.
The brunt of climate stress is disproportionately borne by women and youth in tea communities, who perform much of the labour but have limited access to adaptation resources.

Our initiatives in Kenya

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