Coffee farmers plan demos over loss of assets

What you need to know:

  • The coffee growers are also planning to move to court to demand Sh40 billion compensation from the government over loss of assets.

  • The farmers also supported a Bill by Kiharu MP Irung’u Kang’ata that will cap the price of the commodity.

  • They want to be paid at least Sh200 per kilogramme.

Coffee farmers have vowed to demonstrate outside the Kenya Planters Cooperative Union building in Nairobi as they seek to take over the organisation.

The coffee growers are also planning to move to court to demand Sh40 billion compensation from the government over loss of assets.

At a recent meeting in Murang’a, farmers from five counties passed a resolution to hold the demonstrations.

“Before the end of this month, we will hold the demos to demand a takeover of the KPCU, and draw the attention of President Uhuru Kenyatta to the problems in the coffee sector. It is worrying that the President has remained quiet despite our cries,” said Mr Harrison Munyi, the interim national secretary of the Peasant Coffee Farmers Association of Kenya (PCFAK).

The farmers also supported a Bill by Kiharu MP Irung’u Kang’ata that will cap the price of the commodity.

They want to be paid at least Sh200 per kilogramme. Currently, prices hover between Sh65 and Sh90.

During the meeting, the more than 1,000 farmers expressed their disappointment with the President, whom they accused of failing to show dedication in protecting them.

“The Ethiopian president has really supported coffee farmers in his country, but ours has shown no interest, even after massive corruption and cartels were exposed by the Nation,” said Mr Munyi. He said the farmers are consulting their lawyers so that they can move to court.

BOYCOTT

At the same time, the farmers passed a resolution endorsing a national boycott on picking of their crop until the President ends cartels in the sector.

“We gave the President enough time to look into what is going on in the sector, but he has opted to remain silent,” said the PCFAK national secretary.

Mr Kenyatta’s silence, the exploitation of farmers and massive corruption in the sector have led several farmers in Nyeri County to uproot their coffee bushes and turn to dairy farming.

As a result, coffee production in the county has declined by 20,000 tonnes.

One of the farmers, Mr Geoffrey Wahome from Barichu Farmers’ Co-operative Society, is currently uprooting his 1,100 bushes.

“I am a frustrated old man. Last year alone, I harvested 9,000 kilogrammes, which only gave me Sh90,000. After doing my calculations, I was left with peanuts,” said Mr Wahome.

He said he would not let his grandchildren suffer by continuing to engage in coffee farming, which is unrewarding.

Mr Gaceru Njogu, from Gikanda Cooperative Society, is another frustrated farmer who has uprooted 100 of his 250 coffee bushes.

The former Kenya Railway employee said 15 years after growing his first coffee, he has nothing to show for it.

At the same time, Nyeri County, which has 24 coffee societies, has failed to meet the production levels of 2013-2014, which stood at 42,000 tonnes.

Mr David Nyaga, a chief officer in the Agriculture ministry, Nyeri County, said officials had now embarked on farm-to-farm visits to educate farmers on the best ways to maintain their bushes.

A well-maintained bush is supposed to produce more than 30 kilogrammes of coffee, instead of the current average of 10 kilogrammes.

Although the county will experience low production this year, some of the societies are jubilant.

Among them is the Gachatha Coffee Factory, which was voted the best in the world by the Rainforest Alliance, a United States-based firm.

The society is composed of 1,080 farmers.

“We are almost hitting 1,000 tonnes of coffee” said Mr Peter Mathenge, the society’s chairman.