Nyeri — Coffee farmers in Mt Kenya region have asked the government to set up a fund that will cushion them against fluctuating prices by establishing a guaranteed minimum return for their produce.
Speaking at a public participation forum in Nyeri on the Coffee Bill 2023 and the Tea Amendment Bill 2023, the farmers said that they should be paid a minimum of Sh170 per kilogramme of raw cherry delivered to their factories instead of prices below Sh100 that are currently being paid to them.
The farmers said that there is a need for opening the market through the disbandment of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange which they said manipulates their price by offering lower prices for their coffee.
While presenting their grievances to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries, the farmers asked the task force to consider lowering the cost of production that has seen farmers abandon their farms.
"To fully address the issues affecting farmers, you should focus on lowering their cost of production in order for this Bill to be implemented," said James Kamau, a farmer.
There were calls to engage the youth in coffee farming by introducing incentives that will attract them to the coffee farming venture.
Embu Senator Munyi Mundigi who is also the vice chairman of the Senate agriculture committee said there should be a free market for coffee in the country so farmers can sell their produce whichever they want by licencing factories and empowering them.
"We also want the county government to sell their coffee in a pool based on the quality of their produce and ensure they get the best prices," he said.
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The farmers also said that fertilizer should be distributed from the factories compared to having to collect it from the National Cereal Produce Board depots citing delays.
Nyeri senator Wahome Wamatinga said farmers should be paid through foreign currency straight from the buyers with no intermediaries or brokers.
"Farmers should have the monopoly to choose where and when to be paid. But we are proposing to have farmers money remitted five days after sale," he said, adding that there should be a reserve fund that offers farmers better payment given that coffee is a foreign exchange earner for the country.
Further, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Kirinyaga Senator Kamau Murango said the direct settlement scheme (DSS) as proposed in the Bill should allow farmers to be paid in foreign currency.
"Farmers are not represented in the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and so there are interested parties that went to a bank that are issuing poor exchange rates that are unfair for the farmers. We want farmers to paid in dollars and direct to their accounts," he said.
