The tea sector in Kenya witnesses growing challenges in the light of climbing disputes related to land ownership, in particular in agricultural production areas, which have always been a basic pillar of the local economy.
These conflicts highlight a broader crisis linked to property rights whose roots date back to the British colonial era, in the midst of increasing requests to fairly redistribute the land.
The latest conflict developments
In a scene that reflects tensions, a confrontation broke out in the Nandi region between local residents and a British company that has tea farms.
More than 100 people have seized around 350 acres of land belonging to Istern proded Kenya, which is affiliated with a British investment group.
The company says it was granted to the local community in 1986 of 72 hectares as a development initiative, not 222 hectares as the residents claim.
While residents see that this step was not sufficient to compensate them for the land which was deprived of them in colonial times.
Historical roots
The conflict extends to a long history of the forced confiscation of land during British colonialism, when the colonial authorities have acquired vast agricultural land areas, including fertile land adapted to tea culture.
After independence, land distribution problems have not been radically resolved and large areas of them remained under the control of foreign companies or the main landowners, which brought anger among local communities.
The pace of violence degenerates
Nandi’s incident is no exception, but rather in the context of a series of repeated incidents that have targeted tea farms belonging to foreigners in recent years.
Local farmers have used sites and incursions, demanding the recovery of land from which they are unfair to remove them.
This escalation, which went from peaceful protest and violence, warns against serious repercussions on the tea industry which is one of the pillars of the Kenyan economy.
Pressure foreign investments
These developments have raised the concern of foreign companies operating in the agricultural sector, led by British companies, which face increasing pressure to reconsider the way in which they treat local communities.
Many observers ask questions about the future of foreign investment in Kenya if these tensions continue without real solutions.
What is the government role
In the midst of these tensions, the Kenyan government stands out as a pivotal player in the management of the crisis.
Despite its adoption of policies aimed at redistributing land since independence, implementation has been affected by corruption, low institutional coordination and the absence of policy will sometimes do so.
With the climbing of requests, the government faces an embarrassing challenge, which is the need to find a balance between guaranteeing the rights of local farmers and maintaining an attractive climate for investment.
A joint point for the future of the sector
This conflict is believed with a fundamental question: how can we achieve a balance between the rights of local communities and the economic interests of the foreign parties? In the absence of complete solutions, the situation warns against more disturbances which can undermine the stability of the tea industry and throw a shadow on the entire Kenyan economy.
Observers call for the need to intervene for all actors, whether local or international, to reconsider their approaches to ensure a fairer and lasting future for this vital sector.