Coffee farmers seek direct market

The manager of Kagere Coffee Factory in Othaya,Nyeri, Gakuo Njoroge at his coffee farm on August 12,2016.Peasants coffee farmers association wants regulations to be implemented to allow farmers to sell their produce direct to the market. PHOTO:KIBATA KIHU/STANDARD

Small-scale coffee farmers are rooting for a new method of accessing international markets, where a kilogramme could fetch up to Sh250.

Peasant Coffee Farmers Association said it was exploring a direct market after two dealers from Italy and US showed interest in the coffee produce from the 31 counties.

But coffee, once considered the black gold for its rich returns, has made farmers desolate. A number of them are abandoning the crop for other less regulated and more productive ones.

Despite the premium quality (grade P1) of the crop fetching up to 600 dollars per 50kg bag in the international market, only a meager fraction ends up in the farmer’s pocket.

Between the co-operative society, miller, marketer and the Nairobi auction, only a paltry Sh80 ends up as payment to the farmer.

But farmers are now taking charge and demanding more for their yield. The move to source for a direct market may not go down well with some stakeholders who have sunk their roots deep in the sector.

On their own, small-scale farmers have no means of processing, marketing and selling their produce. The coffee has to be taken to millers and growers that own pulping stations.

Peasant Coffee Farmers Association Chairman Peter Minae said direct marketing would weed out millers and marketers who have been in control of the sector and ensure that set policies and guidelines are followed.

The association, which has members in 31 counties, has been pushing the government to introduce the Guaranteed Minimum Return (GMR) benchmark that would eject private millers and marketers from the market.

Mr Minae said there are policies that will guide the marketing strategies to enhance sustainability in line with government policies.

Njoroge Gakuo, a farmer from Othaya, believes that cartels are colluding with coffee society managers to take advantage of the farmers.

The farmer says the sector should adopt reforms that would empower farmers to mill their own coffee and get their own markets, preferably overseas.

However, officials in charge of co-operative societies have described direct marketing as unrealistic.

Murang’a County Coffee Co-operatives Leaders Forum official Hiram Mwaniki dismissed the association as a ploy by coffee dealers to sabotage government policies in the sector, especially the recently gazetted regulations.

“The prices are unrealistic as there are no structures to sustain them and there is a likelyhood of the farmers losing their money as co-operative officials are not involved,” Mwaniki told The Standard on Saturday, yesterday.

Insiders in the sector revealed that the dealers from Italy and USA are interested to establish the actual production capacity before they can sign an agreement.

Association’s patron and Murang’a nominated MCA Rebecca Mwicigi said the deal will benefit the farmers who have remained under the oppression of coffee cartels.

She said the exporters plan to establish a factory at Kenol market that will help to extract some medicinal products.

Mwicigi appreciated efforts by the association to bring the farmers together to support their activities.

Kiharu MP Irungu Kang’ata supported the farmers’ new initiative, saying there was a need for farmers to enjoy better prices for their commodity that has attractive value in the international market.