About this episode
China Sets $216 Billion Tea Industry Chain Target for 2030 | India–Bangladesh Political Reset Signals Smoother Trade, Auctions and Transport for Tea | Dementia Risk Study Coverage Strengthens Tea’s Moderate-Consumption Demand NarrativeNEWSMAKER – Sein Star Kilel, CEO Co-Founder, FarmerPower.aiPLUS | FarmerPower.ai | Seventy-eight percent of the 720,000 Kenyan smallholders who rely on tea for their livelihoods cultivate tea on plots of a half-acre or less. The sector is crucial to the economy, providing jobs for millions and contributing significantly to the country's GDP. Yet most farmers operate in the dark, receiving little to no real-time feedback on leaf quality, pricing outcomes, or how their harvest performs at factory intake. Today, we speak with Sein Star Kilel, co-founder of FarmerPower.ai, a Nairobi-based startup developing computer vision and AI tools to improve green leaf quality at the point of intake. By combining barcode traceability, conveyor-based sorting hardware, and a proprietary AI model trained to classify primary versus secondary leaf, FarmerPower.ai aims to reduce downgrading, increase premium yield, and provide real-time feedback to farmers.If successful, the platform could reshape how quality is measured, rewarded, and monetized in Kenyan tea.| Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/tea-biz/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
