Hailstorms disrupt work for over 700 tea pickers in Nandi

Farmers pick fresh tea leaves at a tea plantation in Kericho. More than 700 tea pickers in Nandi County have been sent home after hailstorms destroyed tea farms. Photo/FILE 

By TOM MATOKE

In Summary

• The pluckers are not expected to resume work until after two months when the crop would have regenerated.
• Farmers in Nandi were expecting a good harvest following the onset of good rains.

More than 700 tea pickers in Nandi County have been sent home after hailstorms destroyed tea plantations.

The pluckers are not expected to resume work until after two months when the crop would have regenerated.

Heavy rains destroyed tea farms in Nandi and Kericho counties two weeks ago, leaving many growers counting losses.

A KTDA director John Tega asked the government to set up an insurance scheme for compensating farmers for losses arising from vagaries of nature.

However, there are many private schemes where farmers are compensated when their crop falls below normal output. The compensation largely covers inputs and foregone income.

Farmers in Nandi were expecting a good harvest following the onset of good rains.

Experts have advised farmers to plant more trees in their farms to check against the effects of hailstorms and frost on their crop.