Kericho County
British tea estates became smallholder cooperative landscape—2025 bonuses halved as global prices stay depressed. By 2026: geographic branding or commodity trap.
Kericho exists because tea exists—specifically, the Camellia sinensis plant thrives in these misty highlands like nowhere else in Africa. British planters discovered the ideal combination of altitude, rainfall, and acidic soils in the early 1900s, establishing estates that would make Kenya the world's leading black tea exporter. The rolling green plantations stretching to every horizon became Kericho's identity.
The post-independence period saw smallholder farmers organized through the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which manages 69 factories processing tea from over 600,000 farmers. Kericho sits at the heart of this system—the "West of Rift" tea zone that produces distinctive, full-bodied teas distinct from eastern Kenya's lighter varieties. The county's economy operates almost entirely on tea's annual rhythm: planting, harvesting, processing, exporting.
2025 revealed the monoculture's fragility. Factory earnings averaged only KSh 245 per kilo of made tea—barely half what East of Rift farmers received. Smallholder bonuses fell to KSh 20-32 per kilo, down from KSh 35-45 the previous year. Market access challenges in Sudan created oversupply at auction; global prices remained depressed at $2.09-2.26 per kilo through early 2025. The government's KSh 3.5 billion factory upgrade program and 400,000 certified tea plant distribution offer some relief.
The county exhibits classic price-taker dynamics: despite producing world-class tea, Kericho farmers capture little value, while commodity markets dictate their fortunes. By 2026, the geographic indication initiative—branding "Kericho highlands tea" for premium markets—will test whether terroir marketing can break the commodity trap.