Coffee growers from Murang’a County have raised concerns with some of the new coffee regulations terming them as detrimental to the coffee sub-sector.
The Murang’a County Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union said some regulations published in the Kenya Gazette June 27, 2016 will restrict transportation, introduce cherry hawking and promote coffee theft.
According to Mr Francis Ngone, the board’s chairman, the gazetted rules will also kill the coffee co-operatives societies and promote cartels.
Mr Ngone said the transportation of parchment to the nearest mille is an affront to the growers’ right to property, adding that compelling coffee societies to deliver their coffee to uncertified millers will not only compromise on the quality but also the price.
He lamented that the process and bureaucracy involved in attaining the movement permit from the county government was too long and time consuming.
He added that as a result, the process will be exposing coffee societies to a lot of risk including theft.
RIGHT TO SELL OWN PRODUCE
“Pooling of coffee grower for marketing by the county government denies them the right to sell their own produce which they have toiled to maintain,” he said.
Speaking in Murang’a Town, the farmers added that they were strongly against farm-gate cherry and parchment trading since it will introduce cherry hawking and promote coffee theft.
Mr Ngone lamented that introduction of pulping stations, a major shift from the current model of cooperatives and estate-based pulping will kill coffee cooperatives since it will allow individuals to own pulping stations.
He said the gazetted rules will kill cooperatives as they will no longer handle any sales proceeds and consequently fail to fulfil their current role of financing their members.
CENTRAL DEPOSITORY UNIT
On the central depository unit (CDU), Mr Ngone noted that farmers already have accounts with various local saccos of their choice where they receive their coffee payment and advances.
‘Urging them to open other accounts with the CDU is uncalled for and will only lead to the collapse of these saccos,” he remarked.
“The concerned authorities should instead strengthen their corporate governance structure and enforce the existing laws,” he added.
He urged the government to give real-time information to the coffee growers on the true value of their crop on the global market so that they can make informed decision on where to sell their coffee.
“Murang’a County coffee farmers appeal to the concerned authorities to facilitate the national task force on [the] coffee sub-sector reforms to present their report to the coffee farmers, whom it was intended to benefit, through nationwide seminars,” he concluded.