Kenya is positioning itself to become the first African country to certify its tea as low-carbon, a move set to double export earnings and boost incomes for over 700,000 smallholder farmers.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and the Ministry of Agriculture is part of a broader strategy to align the country's most lucrative cash crop with international climate accountability standards.
Speaking during an international workshop on the feasibility of low-carbon tea certification held in Kisumu, Dr.
Barrack Okoba, FAO's Project Manager for Resilient Livelihoods and Climate Change, said the initiative is part of a USD 5 million pilot funded by China and Germany to assess and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the tea value chain. "We are targeting tea because it's one of Kenya's top foreign exchange earners.
