Industry

Coffee farmers push middlemen aside in new deal

coffee

A woman picks coffee berries at a Nyeri farm. Photo/FILE

Farmers will settle the debt they owe coffee millers in a deal reached Monday severing ties with middlemen as Nyeri County moves towards direct sale of the commodity.

Agriculture secretary Felix Koskei said the county would pay Sh100 millers to millers from the first crop sold directly. The millers and marketing agents are owed Sh132 million for services.

“All parties have to respect their contractual obligation as stated in the agreement. The county will pay the millers Sh100 million from the first batch of coffee that will be processed,” said Mr Koskei.

Nyeri governor Nderitu Gachagua said the farmers would honour obligations of the nine co-operative societies in the county.

“We will honour the obligations subject to verification and millers and marketing agents’ consent that coffee societies in Nyeri County can sell their coffee to any willing buyer,” said Mr Gachagua.

Millers and the county government have been at loggerheads over marketing of coffee which the latter want sold directly. Millers had raised concerns that they would lose input credit advanced to farmers.

READ: County’s coffee marketing plan sparks dispute with millers

Mr Gachagua said the county had stepped up measures to ensure that the region produce high quality coffee to attract good price at the auction.

“The Nyeri county government will work closely with the coffee farmers, societies and milling and marketing agents to maintain the highest quality standards in the production, processing, milling and grading of coffee,” he said.

Kenya is a relatively small coffee grower compared with other producers, but its specialty coffee is sought after by roasters for blending.

Kenyan coffee has been trading above the New York figure in the past months in what was attributed to the high quality that was being offered at the market from a number of coffee growing zones.

However, the price of the produce dropped last week to trade at an average Sh22,016 ($256) compared to a four-year high of Sh25,112  ($292) that it fetched during the previous week’s auction.

Mr Koskei said co-operation among stakeholders was key to Kenya coffee remaining competitive globally. The minister said the government was putting in place measures to improve productivity. The measures include subsidising inputs and ensuring availability of quality coffee seedlings.

In the 1980s Kenya was producing more than 150,000 tonnes of coffee per year but is now producing 50,000 tonnes, more than two thirds of decline.