ETP pushes to raise wages of Malawi tea farmers

MALAWI is the second largest producer of tea in Africa, accounting for nearly 10% of the continent’s output.  In January this year, it produced 8.21 kg. But the conditions for tea farmers in Malawi are not as favourable.  For one, the pay, even though within legal minimum wage, is low at $2. An Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) and Oxfam research also shows that there was no difference between wages on Fairtrade and other certified estates, compared to non-certified ones, mainly because wages are set nationally and pay is usually based on the legal wage.

To help increase wages, the ETP, Oxfam, IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and the German development agency GIZ are leading a project to establish a living wage in Malawi, which if successful will be developed in other countries.

Aside from this, other projects have been on-going to help the region’s tea industry. One is the introduction of the Farmer Field Schools by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). There are 1600 of such schools today, training farmers on how to boost efficiency. The initial result was an increase of 36% in yield. With this success, the ETP has rolled out the project other tea growing countries to reach 200,000 more farmers.