Tea pickers destroy machines designed to replace their labor Grilled meat prices are lowered more often than alternatives

During violent protests, tea pickers in Kenya destroyed a number of machines intended to replace their jobs. At least nine machines, including auxiliary mechanical equipment, motorized manual pickers and a tractor, were destroyed during a protest in western Kenya’s Kericho district, according to local reports. The African online newspaper “Nation” reports that 14 police officers were also injured in the protests, which took place at the end of May. The protesters also attempted to illegally harvest tea.

The Kenya Tea Growers Association has so far estimated the cost of the damaged machines at €1.15 million.

There have been riots in the past. In October, ten machines were destroyed and three suspects arrested, local media reported. Police cars were also attacked during protests and other police officers were injured, some seriously. A journalist was injured. A person was allegedly killed, this information could not be verified.

During the protests, workers repeatedly resisted the automation of their work. By using the machines, farms reduce operating costs, but workers are increasingly losing their jobs.

Local studies have shown that one machine can replace up to 100 workers, the news site “Semafor Africa” ​​reports. In the Kericho district alone, 30,000 jobs have been lost to mechanization over the past decade, the site continues, citing local government information.

In the vicinity of the East African country, companies such as Ekatarra, the manufacturer of the best-selling tea brand Lipton, or Unilever have tea grown. According to media reports, some 200,000 hectares of plantations are cultivated there.

A spokesman for Ekaterra/Lipton in Kenya defended the use of machines to the news site Semafor Africa. Mechanical harvesting aids are “critical” to ensuring the global competitiveness of Kenyan tea. Government officials had determined that a machine would reduce the cost of harvesting tea from the equivalent of ten cents per kilogram to 0.026 cents for hand-picking.

In March, a local government task force recommended that tea companies organize only 60 percent of tea crops by machine and at least 40 percent by hand to preserve jobs. At 13.9 percent, Kenya currently has the highest unemployment rate in East Africa.

The Kenyan government now apparently wants to offer retraining programs for employees in other companies and fields of work. Local businesses should also plan such steps. Still, Kenyan journalists fear that the battle over the tea crop will continue and could become violent in the future. Nairobi reporter Martin KN Siele writes, “Workers and residents will continue to resist these changes because they have no alternative employment opportunities.”

According to Statista, Kenya is one of the largest tea exporters in the world. In 2021, the country shipped $1.2 billion worth of tea – ahead of China and then Sri Lanka.

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