Coffee farmers asked to wait for cash longer amid protests
A coffee farmer in Nyeri County. Nyeri coffee farmers have been told they will wait longer for their payment due to logistical issues. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The announcement is likely to raise a storm in the sector, just a week after the county assembly was told that the farmers could have lost more than Sh1 billion in the disjointed sale of the produce.
- In a report by the sectoral committee on Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operative Development tabled in the House, the county government came under heavy criticism for the way it handled the milling and marketing of coffee.
Nyeri coffee farmers have been told they will wait longer for their payment due to logistical issues.
Trade County Executive Stanley Miano said they had sold all the coffee delivered to the Sagana Mills, but the payments were taking time to be processed.
The announcement is likely to raise a storm in the sector, just a week after the county assembly was told that the farmers could have lost more than Sh1 billion in the disjointed sale of the produce.
In a report by the sectoral committee on Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operative Development tabled in the House, the county government came under heavy criticism for the way it handled the milling and marketing of coffee.
The committee reported that the coffee was not sold when the prices were high, but when the prices were as low as 200 dollars per 50 kilogramme.
But Mr Miano said a ship from Australia would dock in Mombasa on July 28, to collect the coffee and they expect payment before the coffee is shipped out.
Mr Miano said they had sold 59 per cent of the coffee through auction and the remaining 41 per cent through direct marketing.
The trade executive said the coffee held in the Dandora warehouse was part of the 59 per cent sold through the auction.
