Societies shun Sh3 billion coffee cherry advance kitty

Coffee societies are reluctant to take money from a Sh3 billion cherry advance kitty, arguing it is designed to benefit large-scale farmers.

When the Ministry of Agriculture launched the fund in January 2020, farmers thought it would help them buy inputs and improve income from the crop, whose fortunes have dwindled.

A farmer is to be paid an advance of Sh20 per kilo of cherry harvested.

While the final payment is made after the produce is sold at Nairobi Coffee Exchange, most of those who have gained from the fund are estate owners.

The money goes directly to a farmer’s bank account.

Mr Samson Kimathi, a farmer in Nkubu, Meru county, said his 500 kilos of cherry secured him a Sh10,000 advance last season.

“The money was very little. I couldn’t even buy fertiliser, pay labourers and take care of my other needs. The government should look for another method of disbursing this advance if it wants us to increase production,” he said.

Disadvantage

Mr Charles Mutwiri, an estate farmer who received an advance last season, said the kitty cannot help small scale growers.

“I can easily get Sh2 million if I harvest 100,000 kilos. Farmers producing low volumes are at a disadvantage,” he said, adding that plantation owners are good at negotiating with the Fund.

The fact that coffee society bosses are not enthusiastic about the scheme has seen farmers remain in the dark, prompting Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya to threaten them with dismissal if they do not increase the uptake.

Mr Munya said he regretted farmers have not benefited from the Sh3 billion even as President Uhuru Kenyatta added a Sh1 billion input subsidy in his Mashujaa Day speech last year.

“All that money is lying idle in the bank as our officers, cooperative societies and New KPCU dilly dally,” Mr Munya said.

“In the meantime, more than 300,000 farmers in 32 counties are not happy with the President, his government and my ministry.”

‘Alliance of saboteurs’

Mr Munya said an “alliance of saboteurs that includes politicians and media actors has refused to address matters of great importance that seek to benefit farmers”.

He added that some politicians fought legislative reforms while media outlets “provide prominent coverage to the enemies of progress”.

“For these reasons, policies that would help farmers fight corruption and manipulation in the value chain are ignored. Noisemakers out to spread disillusionment and despondency continue to be given media prominence,” Mr Munya said in Murang’a last week.

But farmers and society managers say the mode of disbursement is to blame.

Just Sh100 million has been given to farmers across the country since the launch of the scheme.

Mr Mutwiri said the money should be channelled to societies.

“It is modelled in a way that does not give society managers the morale to market it,” Mr Mutwiri said.

“Societies have their needs. They want to repair pulping machines and drying beds. It does not make sense if the money goes to a farmer’s account directly. It is the societies, not the farmers, who pulp the coffee. And there are costs involved.”

His sentiments were echoed by Mikumbune Coffee Co-op Society Josephat Kwiriga.

Consider small-scale farmers

“The fund should be remodelled in favour of small-scale farmers who harvest low volumes,” he said.

“At the society level, we can secure huge amounts of money and disburse it to growers according to their needs,” Mr Kwiriga said.

Before the ministry introduced the plan, Meru Coffee Millers Union (MCMU) had secured Sh250 million from Cooperative Bank and started disbursing the advance to farmers.

MCMU chairman Zablon Mbaabu said more than Sh200 million had been advanced to farmers in the first one year, adding that there were no defaults.

“It is working. The ministry should be dynamic. Let it change the format of disbursement, as that depends on the amount of coffee harvested,” he said.

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