Cartels are the greatest liability in the tea and coffee sectors and efforts are in high gear to flush them out to save farmers from exploitation.
This is according to Senate’s agricultural committee which decried of the high infiltration levels by rogue middlemen and corrupt directors across the crops’ value chains.
They said most of these cartels have registered more than one company and are serving as millers, agents and marketers of the produce.
Led by the committee’s chairperson Senator Kamau Murango, the legislators noted that they have since revised the 2019 tea and coffee bills, and adopted new set of bills which they passed on to farmers and are now engaging them through public participations.
Murango reiterated that as a committee, they had to streamline the 2019 bills governing the sale of the crops as the recommendation of the farmers were not incorporated by the previous administration.
“We are meeting the farmers on the ground because we realised that the memorandums which were presented to the previous regime were mainly from cartels who only wanted to defend their interest. In the sittings we are conducting, we are documenting the voices and receiving the memorandums from farmers so that when we retreat we shall integrate their decisions and come up with a good bill,” he said.
The senator regretted that for the longest, farmers have had nothing to show for their sweat owing to the large scale exploitation by middle men, who are now living lavish lifestyles at the expense of the farmers.
In the tea sector, he said the new bill seeks to liberalise and expand the market by giving farmers the freedom to sell their produce directly to the market and not necessarily through the Mombasa tea auction. He said this will diversify the tea sector and enable farmers get value for their sweat.
In addition, he said the bill recommends the payment of farmers’ produce through a direct settlement system which will enable farmers to receive their payment in the currency format used in trading their produce.
He noted that the payment system will help eliminate rogue brokers who have for the longest determined the rates at which to pay farmers after converting the foreign currencies at their preferred financial institutions which have profitable rates.
Speaking in Gichugu on Monday during the committee’s public participation, the senator noted that the bills for both tea and coffee will also seek to reduce unnecessary licenses that have continually been imposed and continually frustrating farmers as well as incorporation of farmers in key decision making boards.
The Kirinyaga senator further called out rogue small-scale tea directors who have been stealing from farmers in the pretext of improving and modernising the tea factories. He said farmers should be consulted at all times as they wholly own the factories thus cautioning them that their days are numbered.
In bid to maximise the profits, Murango called for the strengthening of the coffee cooperation societies as they produce over 60 per cent of the coffee grown in Kenya.
Murango expressed his disappointment over the exorbitant prices that coffee is sold in foreign markets admitting that his recent USA coffee expo trip confirmed just that.
“While at the expo, I came across a quarter package of some roasted Kirinyaga grown coffee beans which was being retailed at $17 dollars. That goes to say that a kilo of the beans is being sold at Sh9,180 while our farmer receives less than Sh100 for their unprocessed cherries. This is not only unfair but very unfortunate,” he said.
His Embu counterpart Alexander Mundigi said they are determined to win the war which will bring back the glory of the once green gold. He said the committee will not let the farmers down and will do everything within its power to rescue the sectors.
Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga said a time has come when leaders seeking for political offices will not use the coffee and tea debates in seeking political mileage.
“No more politicking with our coffee and tea. Our colleagues from the National Assembly through the parliamentary coffee caucus and this departmental committee are up to task to ensure we save farmers from their oppressor.”
He said majority of the members serving in the departmental committee are from the tea and coffee growing zones and as such they will deliver a good job.
Nominated senator Beth Syengo and her Bungoma counterpart Wafula Wakori said they are and will continue giving a listening ear to all farmers and will work towards their advantage.
Allan Kiprotich, the Trans Nzoia senator called on youths to engage in tea and coffee farming saying most of them have been missing in action.
Farmers lauded the committee for its exemplary work as they called on it to revive the sector as they do the donkey work but hardly get value for their work.
“We spent countless hours in our farms and factories yet we are never paid on time and when paid, its peanuts. This has prompted many of us to secure loans in order to cater to our families. We plead with the committee to streamline the sector so that our hard work can at least pay,” said a local farmer Florence Wanjiku.