Introduction:Kenya’s High Court recently ruled to allow tea plantations to adopt mechanized tea picking, sparking intense debate between labor and management. While this decision could significantly reduce production costs, it may also lead to the unemployment of tens of thousands of tea pluckers. This article delves into the economic benefits, labor impacts, and global trends behind mechanization, and explores the implications of this shift for supply chain choices in the coffee industry.
In February this year, Kenya’s High Court issued a landmark ruling permitting tea plantation operators to use mechanized tea harvesting technology, effectively rejecting union efforts to block mechanization on the grounds of job losses. Although this move could dramatically lower harvesting costs — machines pick tea at approximately 4 Kenyan shillings per kilogram, far below the 15.50 shillings for manual picking — unions fear it could cost up to 50,000 workers their jobs.
Major multinational tea companies such as Unilever and Finlays are accelerating the adoption of various tea-picking and pruning equipment, primarily due to economic considerations. Despite Kenya’s tea plantations benefiting from year-round harvestability and relatively flat terrain, the overall level of agricultural mechanization remains low.
A single harvesting machine requires only one operator but can match the daily output of twenty manual tea pluckers. Manual tea picking earns about 15.50 shillings (approximately $0.14) per kilogram of green leaves, whereas mechanization can reduce costs to around 4 shillings (about $0.04) per kilogram. Some plantation owners admit they value their employees’ rights and acknowledge that their workforce is shrinking, but emphasize that this is mainly achieved through natural attrition.
According to plantation owners, strikes triggered by labor disputes last year caused producers to suffer losses of up to 300 million shillings (approximately $2.7 million). Amid prolonged legal battles, five major tea companies in Kenya’s Rift Valley region — including Finlays, Unilever, Kepkebe, Sotik Tea, Williamson Tea, and the Eastern Produce Kenya Company (EPCK) — have all pushed forward with mechanization, while facing strong opposition from the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU).
Henry Omaswa, national organizing secretary of the British Trades Union Congress, told the media that once mechanized tea-picking equipment becomes widespread, it could lead to the unemployment of 50,000 workers. According to him, over 10,000 tea workers have already been laid off in efforts to cut operational costs in counties such as Nandi, Kericho, Bomet, and Nyamira. Some local county governments, such as Nandi County, even introduced new taxes last year in an attempt to prevent companies from replacing temporary workers with machinery.
Apollo Kiari, CEO of the Kenya Tea Growers Association, explained that the so-called job losses are actually the result of natural attrition. He pointed out: “Tea factories are not laying off workers due to mechanization. When employees resign voluntarily, pass away, or are dismissed for disciplinary reasons, the companies do not replace them.” He further emphasized that global agriculture is moving toward mechanization, which will help improve worker efficiency and the overall working environment. As an example, he noted that a manual tea plucker can harvest about 40 kilograms per day, earning around 532 shillings (approximately $4.85), whereas a machine can easily harvest 150 kilograms in a day.
Pascal Kemunto, Managing Director of Agrimech Africa Ltd., noted that mechanization is an inevitable trend for the future. He mentioned that African women smallholder farmers contribute 70% of the continent’s food production, but with the population expected to double by 2050, food production must increase substantially. However, currently more than half of Kenya’s high-potential farmland remains idle. Kemunto further explained, “Kenya has only two tractors for every 2,500 acres of farmland.” He warned that without actively promoting mechanization, “food security will quickly become dependent on expensive imports.” Comparative data shows that India has 128 tractors per square kilometer of farmland, Brazil has 116, while according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Sub-Saharan Africa averages just 1.3 tractors per square kilometer, and the entire African continent has fewer than two tractors per 1,000 hectares of farmland.
The FAO also pointed out that mechanization is inherently challenging due to terrain limitations and the globally prevalent small-scale farm model (with an average size of just 0.33 hectares). Although most tea plantations are located on steep slopes, Kenya is one of the exceptions. The country currently has 160,000 hectares of tea cultivation, with an annual output of 350,000 tons. Tea harvested from flat land is mostly used for making tea bags and tea powder, rather than traditional high-quality loose-leaf tea. Harvesting equipment typically costs less than $1,000 per unit, but to fully implement mechanization, it also requires well-developed footpath systems, stable fuel supply, and a sufficient number of skilled machine operators.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
