Tea pickers In Kenya Are Destroying Machines Meant To Replace Them In Protest

Tea pickers in Kenya are protesting the automation of the tea industry. They have destroyed tea-plucking machines worth $1.2 million and clashed with police. A government task force has proposed a 60:40 human-machine tea-picking ratio, but analysts say automation is inevitable.

Tea pickers in Kenya’s Kericho county are protesting the automation of the tea industry. They say that machines are taking their jobs and that the government is not doing enough to protect them.

In the past year, tea pickers have destroyed around ten tea-plucking machines worth $1.2 million. They have also clashed with police, resulting in the death of one protester and several injuries.

A government task force has proposed a 60:40 human-machine tea-picking ratio. This means that 60% of the tea would be picked by machines and 40% by humans. However, the task force has also said that it wants to reduce the number of tea harvesting machines imported into the country.

Tea pickers are unhappy with the task force’s proposals. They say that machines are taking their jobs and that the government is not doing enough to protect them. They also say that the 60:40 ratio is unfair, as it means that they will be earning less money.

Analysts say that automation is inevitable in the tea industry. They say that machines are more efficient than humans and that they can help to reduce the cost of production. However, they also say that the government needs to do more to help tea pickers who are displaced by automation.

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Kenya is a major player in the global tea market. In 2021, it exported tea worth $1.2 billion. Only China and Sri Lanka exported more in the period. The tea industry is a major source of employment in Kenya, and it is important for the government to find a way to balance the needs of tea pickers with the demands of the global market.