Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday, August 9 announced that the government will be compelled to step in and purchase coffee from farmers directly should brokers operating in the sector fail to offer better prices.
Speaking during a stopover in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County, as part of President William Ruto's regional development tour, the Deputy President asked brokers to increase the prices from the current Ksh 50 per kilo to Ksh 150 per kilo.
The Deputy President emphasised that this new strategy aims to rein in coffee brokers who have traditionally exploited farmers by offering very low prices for a crop that holds significant market potential.
According to Gachagua, the brokers have been taking advantage of the fact that farmers have no direct contact to foreign buyers leaving them at their mercy.
“If they [coffee brokers] do not lower those prices, I will ask the president to put aside some money and buy the coffee from the farmers himself,” an irate Gachagua said.
Gachagua particularly complained about the tactics brokers use to exploit coffee farmers which entails hedging the price, five years in advance.
While praising the quality of coffee produced by the Mt. Kenya region, Gachagua revealed that coffee farmers from the region have requested a sitting with the Kenya Kwanza administration to address the issues plaguing the once dominant sector.
Speaking at the same stopover, President William Ruto backed the DP's ongoing efforts to rid the coffee and tea sector off cartels and asked Gachagua to continue monitoring the situation to see if the brokers heed the directives.
Failure to abide with the orders, President Ruto said he will invest Ksh2.5 billion to buy the coffee from the farmers himself.
Instructively, as the Deputy President made his remarks, he was cheered on by the residents which highlighted the importance of the Agricultural sector in the region.
In March 2023, coffee farmers from Mt Kenya called on the Kenya Kwanza government to scrap the Nairobi Coffee Exchange to allow them to sell directly to buyers.
In the same month, coffee farmers from Kigumo protested over delay in payments. Farmers affiliated to three coffee factories decried that their produce sold between March and September of 2022 had not been paid for. They accused the cooperative of hoarding the money to gain interest from banks before remitting the payment.
