Meru County moves to secure coffee after wave of robberies

Security is being beefed up to stem a wave of thefts targeting high-grade coffee that is usually stockpiled in rickety stores in factories around Meru County.

Coffee factories are traditionally manned by watchmen, whose only weapons comprise a whistle, a club, a bow and arrows or, in some places, farmers are forced to hire vigilante groups to guard their beans against criminals.

In virtually all cases, the stolen coffee is never recovered. The trend has also been recorded in neighbouring Tharaka-Nithi, Embu, Nyeri and Murang’a counties, despite stringent rules that require one to produce a movement permit while transporting the commodity.

The wave of thefts, especially during harvesting seasons, has posed a serious threat to an industry that has been gradually recovering from years of low production, mismanagement and poor earnings.

These crimes could, however, come to an end with the ongoing rehabilitation of at least 50 pulping factories, which has raised hopes of revival of the once-lucrative sub-sector.

Rehabilitation of each factory is expected to cost between Sh10 million and Sh32 million, depending on the works to be done, according to Meru Central Coffee Union (MCCU) chairman Ephantas Majau.

Mr Majau explained refurbishment of the factories with special focus on coffee pulping areas and drying beds would greatly improve the quality of coffee beans.

According to a contractor at one of the factories, the planned enhancement of security will include building perimeter walls and installation of closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras for surveillance to ward off coffee thieves and prevent the grabbing of factory land.

Processed at the factories

The renovation of factories is being funded by the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) in collaboration with coffee marketers in the region, who are directly carrying out the works.

“There have been efforts to rebuild the factories in the past but this has not succeeded and coffee marketers have now taken up the task of refurbishing them in order to improve quality,” said an official who did not wish to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“But in order to ensure prudent management of resources and to avoid a situation where factory management does not delay the projects, we are carrying out the works directly,” the official added.

However, some factory managers were concerned that with the harvesting season beginning in October, the volume of beans that will be processed at the factories may decrease, and asked contractors to fast-track the exercise.

“The contractor should increase the number of workers on the site because if there are delays, farmers will complain about processing of their coffee,” said Mr David Gikunda, the manager at Nugu Coffee Factory in South Imenti.

“Farmers normally harvest at least one million kilos of beans per season and if this exercise is delayed we might not reach that level, which will affect farmers’ earnings,” he added.

Reconstruction of the factories will come as a relief to growers and go a long way in reviving the coffee sector, whose fortunes have declined from a high of 140,000 metric tonnes in the 1980s to a paltry 40,000 tonnes every year.

At the same time, coffee societies are recording improved earnings from lower grades of coffee sold at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), which they say is a major boost since the commodity’s grade has not improved due to years of neglect.

According to Mr Josephat Kwiriga, the executive officer at Mikumbune Coffee Cooperative Society in Imenti South, Grade C, which used to go for $250 (Sh25,000) for a 50kg bag, is now selling at between $300 (Sh30,000) and $360 (Sh36,000).

“Grade C is now competing with grade AA, whose price starts at Sh35,000 depending on global supply of the commodity. This is good news to farmers because they have not yet improved on quality due to lack of proper farm inputs,” Mr Kwiriga said in an interview at the society.​