EDITORIAL
Something needs to be done urgently to arrest the runaway coffee theft that has caused farmers huge losses in several counties.
As we report elsewhere in this edition, growers have lost at least 50,000 kilogrammes of the product worth an estimated Sh50 million in recent months.
It has been extremely puzzling how the daring thieves go into factories and make away with hundreds of bags right under the noses of guards and the police.
Many theories have been advanced to explain the wave of theft.
Some fingers have been pointed towards the police, some suspect a role by cooperative society officials, private estates and millers.
Farmers have also questioned the silence of government regulatory agencies in the face of this rampant theft.
It is time for the authorities to step in and take action.
This is, first, a law and order issue. It is utterly unacceptable that these crimes have been unfolding with hardly any of the criminals being arrested.
The police in the areas where this theft is occurring, particularly in Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Murang’a, need to prevent the crimes or be held to account for their inaction.
Society officials also need to take preventive action to ensure the coffee that farmers entrust in their care is well guarded.
Ultimately, though, policy action needs to be taken.
The rampant theft of coffee probably reflects the fact there are too many private millers with a licence to sell the produce but not enough coffee to meet their demands.
What appears necessary is to rationalise the issuing of these licences and to carefully monitor the activities of these millers to ensure they do not resort to crime to secure coffee.
The Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett also needs to do more.
His silence on this serious problem is puzzling.
The extremely low profile he keeps raises questions as to whether that critically important ministry has the right calibre of leadership.
Coffee was once one of the country’s top foreign exchange earners and a critical product that sustained tens of thousands of livelihoods.
It cannot be right that farmers lose produce worth millions while key government officials sit on their hands.