Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has hailed Mudete Tea Factory as one of Western Kenya’s most transformative investments, crediting it with changing the lives of thousands of families since 1997.
Speaking during a tour of the factory in Vihiga County, Mudavadi said the facility serves about 12,000 smallholder farmers across Vihiga, Kakamega and neighbouring counties.
He noted it has paid out over Sh10.5 billion to growers over the years, giving households a rare guarantee of monthly income.
“Tea remains the only crop in the region that guarantees farmers a payslip every month. Every tea farmer earns something from their sweat,” he said.
Mudavadi recalled that before Mudete was established, farmers endured long, tedious journeys to Chebut Factory in Nandi to process their green leaf.
The project, funded by the Government of Kenya and the European Investment Bank during the Moi era, brought processing closer to home.
With nearly 95 percent of its tea exported, the factory earns crucial foreign exchange and supports rural jobs.
Mudavadi urged young people to view tea as a profitable business, not just subsistence, and assured farmers that government is tackling high taxes, poor roads and low global prices.
