Nairobi — State Department of Co-operatives Commissioner Patrick Kilemi has said that the government is undertaking various reforms in the coffee sector to ensure that farmers are not exploited.

Kilemi, in response to queries raised by parliament, said that some of the reforms the state is keen on instituting include ensuring the fruition of the Coffee Bill that will prohibit the involvement of the same company in milling, marketing, and dealing in coffee.

Similarly, farmer organizations will now be allowed to sell their coffee at the Nairobi Coffee Auction, in a move anchored on striking out middlemen.

"The cooperative Bill has been developed and has already been presented to the National Assembly for appropriate action," reads the response by Kilemi in part.

"The Cooperative Bill among others; Provides for the functions of the counties and national government."

Likewise, he promised farmers that the government wouldfulfill its commitment to granting coffee farmers access to the promised Sh80 per kilogram of cherry through an additional Sh4 billion to the Cherry Advance Revolving Fund, payable in two trenches.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has previously accused cartels in the coffee sector of the low cherry prices, vowing to ensure farmers earn their dues without the involvement of middlemen.

"This issue of farmers being peanuts is to blame for low production. How do you expect a farmer who is paid poorly to work hard in his or her farm, if we address the issue of marketing then automatically farmers will go back to their farms and work" said Gachagua earlier.