Embu — Coffee farmers affiliated to Embu County Coffee Mill and Gakundu Cooperative Society are on the edge following reports that their properties are set to be auctioned over unpaid loans amounting Sh140 million obtained from Commodities Fund.
The Government Agency, a week ago, through a public notice, declared intention to liquidate several properties held as collateral for loans advanced to various clientele in a fortnight through either auction or private treaty.
The County Mill, comprising 24 societies obtained a Sh90 million loan from the agency eight years ago for the construction of a joint milling plant that has since stalled, while Gakundu secured a loan of Sh50 million the same period to modernize its factories.
Both loans are said to have ballooned exponentially for non-service.
The County Mill constructed at Kavutiri was an initiative of Murue Cooperative Society aimed at consolidating milling and marketing of all Embu coffee to increase farmers' earnings through value addition and weeding out middlemen.
The affected farmers have expressed concern over the matter and have appealed to both the national and county government to save their assets from auction.
Murue Factory farmer Bernard Kinyua said the mill was the only project that could have brought all farmers across the county together to help them reap big through joint milling and marketing of the commodity.
"It is a project that could have made us make a huge saving and boost our earnings by ensuring all coffee produced in the county is milled and marketed at one point," Kinyua said.
Another farmer, John Nyaga said they were appalled by the move, since the former Governor Martin Wambora had pledged to assist in paying the loan after his administration took over the management of the mill to assist all farmers.
"He had promised to be remitting Sh. 10 million annually to offset the loan and it is unfortunate that he did not keep part of his bargain, thus exposing our investment to auction," the farmer said.
Gakundu FCS chairman Robert Ndwiga said their loan went towards improvement of the infrastructure of the society's factories to increase efficiency, but farmers were unable to repay after production declined owing to wrangles and weather changes.
"Production has over the years gone down from 2.5 million kilos to around 700,000 per annum that cannot sustain repayment as well pay farmers and meet other operational costs," he said while appealing to the government to rescue them.
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Governor Cecily Mbarire has promised to take up the matter with the Ministry of Agriculture, with a view to seeking a waiver to help them get back on their feet.
"I cannot allow our factories to be auctioned under my watch. My work is to protect the property of our people and will do all I can to ensure the matter is sorted out speedily," she said, while pleading with farmers not to give up. - Kna
