Coffee union admits owing farmers millions as their cries get louder

The Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) has admitted owing farmers millions of shillings for over a decade now.

The union conceded owing about Sh18 million to two coffee cooperative societies in Gichugu constituency alone since 2006.

However, it defended itself, blaming the past leadership that led the organisation into being placed under receivership.

KPCU Managing Director Joseph Kioko however declined to disclose how many millions the union owns farmers across the country but quickly pointed out that the matter was being addressed, “now that we are no longer under receivership.”

But growers from Mt Kenya region accused the once giant union of being among the long chain of cartels in the sector.

The farmers claimed the union and the Coffee Board of Kenya under the watch of well-known personalities in the sector have been the greatest oppressors by working with the cartels year in year out to even pre-determine market prices of the commodity.

“Our parents who pioneered in coffee farming died poor after many years of exploitation by brokers and middlemen, and after we took over from them, the same cartels that seem permanently positioned continue to enslave us. Enough is enough,” said Njiru Kathangu, a farmer from Embu County.

Speaking during a meeting at Kerugoya stadium in Kirinyaga Monday, Kioko concurred with the growers that there is urgent need to amend the Coffee Act.

He said despite having the best milling facilities, the organisation has been denied a marketing licence due to the exorbitant fee of Sh100 million.

“We have just come out of a receivership and wanted to start marketing coffee for our farmers but when we made the move, we were slammed with a Sh 100 million fee by the Coffee Directorate, which issues the licences,”  Kioko said.

Coffee cooperative leaders from Murang’, Nyeri, Embu , Kiambu and Kirinyaga decried the high cost of farm inputs, which had pushed the production of the commodity to unimaginable levels.

They urged State to come up with clear policies on the inputs, especially agro-chemicals and fertilisers, which they require to produce the once black gold of the country.

Nancy Kuthii from Gichugu wondered why the cost of one kilo of coffee cherry hardly fetches Sh50 after sale, while just a tea spoon costs over Sh400 at the end market.

Milling Plants

“To produce one kilo of coffee cherry, the farmers spend up to Sh60 but we are paid as low as Sh20 per kilo; just once after waiting for over six months,” she said.

Addressing the farmers, Kioko said their problems would not be solved by each county putting up its own milling plant.

“The issue is not milling since even if you were to have your own facility, you cannot market the produce due to the existing red tape within the coffee sector. What we need is a complete overhaul of the Coffee Act, which we have already urged our MPs to embark on,” Kioko said.

Already, Gichugu MP Njogu Barua and his Kiharu counterpart Irungu Kangata have drafted a bill, which they intend to table in Parliament, aimed at streamlining the coffee sector once and for all.

In a recent meeting with coffee cooperative society leaders from his region, Barua admitted the sector was riddled with cartels, which have over the years continued to exploit the farmers despite their hard work.

“In the proposed bill, we want a situation where the farmer is assured of a minimum guaranteed return from his crop regardless of the coffee prices at the world market,” he said.

He said with such an arrangement in place, farmers can be able to organise themselves and obtain credit facilities to improve production both in quality and quantity.

The issue of the perennial rampant theft of parchment coffee also came up at the meeting, with some farmers pointing an accusing finger at some unscrupulous millers who reportedly collude with factory officials to commit the crime.

“We know coffee production has nose-dived over the years while the number of private millers chasing the highly priced commodity at the world market has increased,” said Kathangu.

Farmers also came up with a slogan ‘Kahawa Yetu, Kura Yetu (our coffee, our vote), calling on the State to urgently address their plight before the next General Election.