Ragati Tea Factory

The factory is situated at Magutu Location, Mathira East District of Central Province. Natural Features Nearby:Ragati is situated just next to the famous Mt. Kenya forest.(national heritage) Location in Latitude and Longitude: The factory is on relatively high altitude of 2250M above sea level approximately 0.2^oC south of Equator along 37.6 East Longitude.Distances from Nearest Town(s):Ragati is 12 Kilometers from Karatina and 37Kilometres from Nyeri Town.Distance from Nairobi: The factory is 145 Kilometers from the capital city; Nairobi.Number of Growers in the Area: Currently, the factory serves 7,212 farmers with a potential area of 1,382.29 Hectares of land giving an average farm size of 0.49 against the recommended average of 0.5 of an acre. Kind of Tea Grown in the Area:Clones teas; 31/8, 6/8, SFS 150, 303/577 11/4, KAGOCHI 4.

Access Roads:

Karatina-Kagochi-Ragati, Kabiru-ini-Gitunduti-Ragati, and Miiri-Kiaruhiu-Ragati

Rivers feeding the Teas: Ragati, Kururu, Muhuhi, Muthira

Climate: Rainfall: 1200-1800mm per annum.

RG022-Kangiri, RG023-Giagathege, RG024-Gathehu, RG025-Karura,

RG026-Gachuguina, RG027-Nyana, RG028-Kiamucheru, RG029-Kihuri,

RG030-Gaturumo-ini, RG032-Kiawaiguru, RG033-Gathambo, RG034-Thegenge, RG035-Gchuiro, RG036 – Raini, RG037- Kianjuguma

Access Roads:

Karatina-Kagochi-Ragati.
Kabiru-ini-Gitunduti-Ragati.
Miiri-Kiaruhiu-Ragati

Rivers feeding the Teas:

Ragati, Kururu, Muhuhi, Muthira

Climate:

Rainfall: 1200-1800mm per annum.

Growers 8302

Acreage 3422.05Ha. Planted

Potential area 28.36 Ha

No. of bushes 12 865 683 bushes.

Average production 1.45 Kg/bush/(2020/2021)

Target 1.5 kgs/bush/year.

PRODUCTION SECTION.

The factory consists of

82 troughs with capacity of 26334 sq feet.
Two offloading bays with 2 monorail drives.
3 CTC lines. (1-Magnum, 2-Vikram).
2 Continuous Fermenting Unit capacity 3500kgs/hr
3 driers (2 McCloy of design capacity-600kgs/Hr, 1- Vikram of 400kgs/hr Capacity).
4 Presorters.
7 Tea Storage bins
2 Packers
3 Boilers(1-Oil Fired, 2-Wood Fired)
2 Standby Generators (640 KVA & 450 KVA)

PRODUCTION-GREEN LEAF AND MADE TEA.

FINANCIAL YEAR	Ragati GL	DIVERSIONS	MADE TEA	OUTTURN
		From others

2011-2012	10,727,661.40		2,702,555.50	25.19
2012-2013	12,953,452.80		3,142,395	24.26
2013-2014	16,643,175.10		3,848,324.25	23.12
2014-2015	15,136,970.00		3,450,646.25	22.80
2015-2016	14,731,444.40		3,356,112.5	22.78
2016-2017	15,284,061.20		3,499,863.75	22.90
2017-2018	9,374,033.800		2,245,301.25	23.95
2018-2019	15,206,685.10		3,492,151.86	22.96
2019-2020	20,543,945.00		4,431,135.00	21.57
2020-2021	17,381,773.00		3,978,897.00	22.89

challenges

State of Roads within the catchment
Over reliance on traditional markets;
Weakening of KES;
High cost of production (labor and energy);
Growing substitutes to tea;
Environmental degradation;
Decreasing farm sizes
Unpredictable tea prices
Unpredictable exchange rates
Unpredictable Weather and global warming

Micro-Hydro Electricity Generation Project:

This is the first project of its kind in KTDA. The Factory has joined with five neighbouring Tea Factories for Joint Multisite Hydro Electricity Generation Projects.

Tree Planting Projects

We have two major tree planting projects.

LUISOI farm project:

This is a Factory project planted with trees under 70acres. We have planted eucalyptus tree species in 60 acres with approximately 46,000 trees at different stages of maturity. The rest 10 acres are conservation areas for indigenous tree species

ITIATI farm project

We have 12 acres of land where we have planted eucalyptus trees. Number of trees planted is 15,000. They were planted 13 years ago and harvested in 2012 and 2014 .Rejuvenation of the trees is progressing well.

ISO 9001:20015 certification

The factory is ISO 9001:2015 certified for the following activities; provision of agricultural services, green leaf collection, processing, packing, and dispatch of black tea.

ISO 22000: 2005 certification for food safety management systems
UTZ/Certified-certification for sustainable agriculture.
Rainforest Alliance – certification for sustainable agriculture.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Factory offers training by taking internship from colleges and other institutions of higher Learning
Improvement of the road network within the factory catchments. This is done using the cess funds to enable the factory transport green leaf from the buying centre to the factory efficiently. All our roads are now passable even during the rainy season.
Employment- We offer opportunities for employment of people living within the catchment.
Environmental conservation- by growing of trees, educating farmers on environmental conservation methods e.g. soil conservation, safe use of agrochemicals, water conservation and good farming practices, we play a big role in environmental conservation.

Factory Directors