By Felix Njenga
The government has said that the direct settlement system is good for the coffee farmers as it has brought transparency in the value chain.
Speaking Ndumberi stadium in Kiambu sub county Wycliffe Oparanya Cabinet Secretary for Cooperative Development and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises during a coffee sensitization forum said that from July 80 per cent of the money will be going directly to the farmers pocket.
“In the reforms that we have put up farmers will now be getting their money through their accounts and the leaders have agreed and seen that the returns have increased and farmers are happy,” Oparanya said.
He said when the coffee is sold it is a must farmers get 80% and cooperative societies and other stake holders to share 20%.
“If farmers feel that they need to be deducted something from the 80% they write to the cooperative movement and say they want a certain percentage to be deducted for factory operations as the 20% they are giving out is too low,” he said.
The CS said that cherry fund has no any problems as long as a farmer has taken their cherry to the factory and has gotten documentation and a farmer can go to any cooperative branch and get a minimum of Sh 40 per kilo of coffee.
“Farmers have gotten sh 7.6 billion of cherry fund which will help them in their daily activities as they await added money after auction of their coffee,” he said.
He said China has increased consumption of coffee hence coffee prices will increase giving farmers good returns.
He said that the reforms that the government has brought to the coffee sector includes removing brokers who used to manipulate prices and has made regulations of all stakeholders to stick to what they do.
“When we make decisions it is because we have seen what is happening in the sector and have seen the wrong doings,” he said.
He called on farmers to embrace coffee farming as a business and increase their coffee production as it has been overtaken by other countries in the East Africa.
“One coffee tree here in Kenya is producing 2.5 kilograms of coffee, in Uganda one coffee tree is producing 10 kilograms while in Tanzania one coffee tree is proving 15 kilograms how are we going to make money if production is low. It is time farmers took coffee farming serious and take it as business and increase production,” he said.
He said that the cooperatives has only received KSh2 billion of the KSh6.8 billion promised by President William Ruto to offset debts which has been a challenge of who to be paid first saying that they will pay out once the whole amount is channelled by treasury.
“In the supplementary budget we have included that the whole amount be put and once it is released we will channel the money to pay out debts,” he said.
Patrick Kilemi Principal Secretary for Cooperatives said that the direct system is a better option for the coffee farmers as the law requires that 80% of the money gotten from sale of coffee to go to the farmers pocket and 20% be retained at the factory level to help in their operations.
“We want transparency in the value chain and law provides that the money goes direct to them,” he said.
He said that revitalization of the coffee sector through the cooperative movement remains top priority under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
“The ongoing reforms in this sub-sector are unlocking new economic opportunities and enhancing financial sustainability for our local farmers,” he said.
Gathoni Wamuchomba, Githunguri Member of Parliament who was also present said that coffee farmers want activities of coffee be devolved at the factory level so as to reach farmers easily.
“Factory managers have the capacity to deal with farmers and operations,” she said.
She said that the direct settlement system will cripple down operations of factories as there is no money going to the factories since the money is being wired directly to the farmers.
“Coffee farmers are receiving money via M-pesa which is a good thing but how will factories operate, how are bills going to be paid, how will the security officers guarding factories be paid,” she pondered.
She recommended that money after sale of coffee be channeled directly to the factories.
She said that farmers have rejected a levy imposed on coffee brokers saying that it will go further to raid their returns.
She further said that regulations made by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) that coffee factories using river water be paying for the use of the water is retrogressive and should be removed.
She noted that coffee theft is still rampant and government should form a special police unit that will be guarding factories and coffee.
She said that coffee factories are still waiting for the KSh6.8 billion offered by the President to offset their debts.
“We have waited for long now of the money promised to offset debts that have crippled factories. We want the money released immediately,” she said.
She called on government to help Komothai coffee Mill which is the biggest mill in Kiambu to have capacity so that it can be milling all the coffee in the county and build a big warehouse for storing coffee.
Machua Waithaka Kiambu MP said that coffee farmers are happy as they have gotten good returns on their coffee.
“Farmers are happy as last year the coffee farmers were paid as low as She 40 for their coffee this season they have reaped big as they were paid over Sh 145 and we wait it to rise to over Sh 300,” he said.
He however said that farmers have reported to him that the cherry fund is not working well for them and it is not reaching them on time and government should work on it so it helps farmers.
James Kinuthia a coffee farmer said that as farmers they do not want to be paid via M-Pesa since some of them are old and are prone to their money being stolen and cannot access a loan.
He said that they have not received the subsidized farm inputs since to access them is a problem as the NCPB is in Thika which is far from the farmers and want the inputs be brought to their factories for easier access.
Joseph Ndungu a farmer said that the regulations which was imposed on through gazette notice be revoked failure to which they will be forced to withdraw from the Nairobi coffee exchange.
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