African tea pickers break robots that will soon replace them on plantations (3 photos)

But this "locomotive", alas, can no longer be stopped.





The first cases of Luddism on the Black Continent are reported by Semafor Africa newspaper. Kenyan tea pickers break robotic systems, the introduction of which gradually deprives them of their work. For the last year burned at least 10 of these machines, owned by Lipton. Sum damage is estimated at $1.2 million.



It is reported that some models of automated machines can replace 100 workers and reduce the cost of assembling tea from 11 to 3 cents per kilogram. But no matter how sorry the simple hard workers, mechanization process is critical for companies and the global overall competitiveness of Kenyan tea.

Kenya exported $1.2 billion worth of tea in 2021 dollars, which makes this country the third largest supplier in the world after China and Sri Lanka. However, over the past 10 years, due to the introduction More than 30,000 people have already lost their jobs on the plantations. To get out of the situation, the local government recommends agricultural holdings harvest at least 40% of the tea by hand.



According to media reports, Kenya has the highest level of unemployment in East Africa. Automation has led to this in many industries, including banking and insurance. In the last quarter 2022, 13.9% of Kenyans were officially unemployed working age.