Nairobi — The government is deploying police officers to all coffee factories to guard against the rising cases of theft of the produce, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said.

Speaking when he reopened the Nairobi Coffee Exchange Auction on Tuesday at New KPCU Nairobi, Mr Gachagua said theft has caused losses to farmers and must be stopped.

Alongside ongoing reforms, he said, this is part of the measures the Government is taking to ensure coffee farmers get earnings commensurate to their sweat.

Operations at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange were suspended soon after the Coffe Reforms Stakeholders Conference in June this year in Meru, which among other recommendations, rooted for elimination of brokers for the farmer to sell their produce directly for better returns.

The DP said the government is on course and will deliver reforms in the coffee sub sector by rooting out middlemen and cartels that have for a long time made coffee farming unprofitable.

During the Conference, which was chaired by the Deputy President, that saw direct engagement with farmers from all coffee growing counties, farmers aired their grievances as well as suggestions on possible solutions to challenges bedeveling them.

The DP also said that the government is aligning relevant legal, policy and operational frameworks for sustainable reforms.

He added that ambassadors will be required to champion identification of markets globally for the Kenyan produce, as the country works towards restoring it's glory in the global arena.