Story by Theophilus Chuma
Smallholder tea growers in Honde Valley are moving to break an unfair pricing jinx endured for over two decades, after embarking on the lucrative production of rolling tea, also known as orthodox tea, with sights set on the export market.
63-year-old Charity Zindi is a small-scale tea farmer in Chimanimani, a farming town located in Zimbabwe’s Eastern highlands of Manicaland Province.
She reflects on the years they sold their tea to Katiyo Tea Estates before the company closed 17 years ago.
“We used to sell our tea to huge corporates and get a living out of it. But this changed as the economy folded and the introduction of new local currencies,” she said.
Zindi is among 1,200 out-growers selling their tea to Eastern Highlands Tea Estate, the main buyer of the green leaf from most of the out-growers in Mutasa District, buying at US$0.13 per kilogramme.
Since 2014 they have tried to break away from this unfair pricing yoke, with little joy.
Some like Jessina Mutasa have been forced to reduce their hectarage from 8 hectares to just under one hectare.
“We have been struggling to take of our children as well as the general upkeep of our families. It’s almost impossible to meet all the needs of our children from the proceeds of tea,” she noted.
To break away from the low prices being offered on their crop, the farmers are pinning hope on value-adding their uncertified tea into orthodox tea, which they say fetches better returns.
Production of orthodox tea has started, though on a small scale.
When processed, orthodox tea can fetch well above 30 United States dollars per kilogramme when exported.
“We are looking at investing in a rolling tea machine that has the capacity to process 1000 kilogrammes per hour. This means we will be able to process ten thousand kilogrammes per day, which is enough to capacitate all the farmers under the association,” indicated Mr Eliah Honde Valley Tea Growers Association chairperson, Mr Eliah Matsikira.
If successfully implemented, orthodox tea may just become their much-awaited answer to a struggle they have endured for 20 years.
