Nairobi — A coffee union wants farmers representation at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) increased as they are underrepresented.

The National Coffee Co-operative (NACCU), an umbrella body representing coffee cooperative unions in the country, reminded the Capital Market Authority (CMA) about its obligations.

In 2021, the Attorney General noted that farmers were under-represented at the NCE.

The plight comes at a time when NCE representation is skewed against producers despite their playing a critical role in the coffee supply chain.

"Finally, we would like to remind the Capital Markets Authority to look into the representation of farmers at the Board of Nairobi Coffee Exchange even after the Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya advisory on 20th September 2021 where the AG noted that small scale farmers were not well represented in the Nairobi Coffee Exchange," NACCU said in a statement.

"We were glad to hear recently the Cabinet Secretary, Cooperatives and MSME Development being quoted in the press saying that farmers will have more seats on the board on the Nairobi Coffee Exchange under the new reforms at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange."

The NACCU membership is drawn from all 31 coffee-growing counties in Kenya.

The union was formed to help them address common challenges as well as enable them to seize opportunities in the production, processing, and marketing of coffee, among others.

"We would like to encourage the Capital Markets Authority to continue on this path of making sure that there is an efficient, fair and transparent price discovery process at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange and introduce transparency in this institution such that even a small-scale farmer and Co-operative can freely trade their coffee and walk home with money in his pocket that is a fair return for their labour and effort," it added.