Coffee farmers bemoan lack of government support

A section of small-scale coffee farmers in Meru have blamed poor yield on the failure by government to provide them financial support and quality and drought-resistant seedlings.

Speaking at the Thura factory in North Imenti at the weekend, the smallholder growers asked the Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) to address production, marketing, and storage challenges.

One of the farmers, Mr Zakayo Mugambi said the government had failed to provide them with the best varieties, despite the existence of a coffee research agency.

“We have some varieties that are disease-resistant but do not reach us. The government knows the best varieties help us get at least 10 kg per tree. We need a clear law that ensures we have access to the scientifically proven productive varieties,” Mugambi said.

He urged the county and national governments to help farmers access the Ruiru 11 and Batian varieties, from their societies or factories.

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“We want to improve production but lack the right varieties,” he said.

Elias Gitonga, a farmer affiliated with Nyaki Farmers Cooperative Union, lamented that they are still vulnerable to cartels that continue to exploit their vulnerabilities.

Gitonga said that while they toil on their farm to produce coffee, they are left vulnerable during storage because of theft targeting factories.

He said the lack of a legal framework to ensure farmers do not suffer losses during coffee theft had left them vulnerable.

“We work so hard to deliver our coffee, but thieves make away with it at the factories. What we need is a law that insures us against theft. There should be a way of establishing how much coffee each farmer produces and stores,” he said.

 “Theft of coffee is a big concern, and we need proper regulation to stop it. If a farmer delivers huge amounts of coffee that do not tally with their bushes, they must state the source of their coffee. It is a huge problem that must be addressed,” Gitonga added.

“We need a regulation which will provide data on how much coffee both smallholder and estate owners harvest, own, and deliver and is stored. It will aid in ensuring that no coffee is stolen,” he said.

Dominic Marete said the coffee research agency must protect farmers from exploitation by unscrupulous seedling traders.

“The government researches the best varieties and husbandry, but farmers lack access to the same. It leaves us vulnerable to traders who sell poor varieties to us, and we suffer losses,” he said.

He regretted that they also lack access to the Cherry Fund, which leaves them at the mercy of Shylocks.

“The government’s Cherry Fund is at three per cent interest, but the shylocks give us the loans at high interest,” he said.

Franklin Muchera urged the government to protect them from unscrupulous traders who take advantage of their lack of education to exploit them.

“We have to spray pesticides all the time because we lack access to the best varieties,” he said.