Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has reaffirmed that the government will not relent on its quest to institute reforms in cartel-laden the coffee subsector.
The DP said the government will, as a way of freeing farmers from the stranglehold of cartels, look for better markets for Kenyan coffee.
"We are facing some resistance in the Coffee subsector but we will not surrender," the DP said.
He was speaking on Monday at Kapkatet Stadium in Kericho County where he graced the Universal Health Coverage Pre-Mashujaa Conference at the stadium.
He said the Sh4 million released by the government will be used to purchase coffee from farmers at higher prices.
"We are grateful to President William Ruto's government for releasing Sh4 billion to pay farmers. They will be paid Sh80 per kilogram as they wait for more. We are looking for a direct market for coffee without going through the exploitative cartels," he said.
The DP said reforms in the tea subsector have bore fruits adding that farmers have received higher bonuses.
"The tea reforms we agreed on in Kericho are beginning to bear fruit. Farmers have received higher bonuses this year because of the reforms," he said.
Gachagua said reforms were also being implemented in the dairy sector and that they will make sure a litre of milk does not come below Sh50.
Among the ongoing coffee sector reforms is the introduction of a direct settlement system (DSS) for expedited and transparent payment of coffee sales proceeds.
DSS is provided for under the Capital Markets (Coffee Exchange) Regulations 2020.
Coffee was once a leading foreign exchange earner for Kenya but successive regimes have blamed cartels for running down of the sector.
However, the Kenya Kwanza government has vowed to eradicate the middlemen by ensuring farmers sell their coffee directly to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) and overseas.
Eleven coffee unions have been licensed to undertake the sale while the Capital Markets Authority has been entrenched to regulate the NCE and ensure transparency.
Coffee farmers through their National Coffee Cooperative Union have asked the William Ruto administration not to relent on the reforms until cartels are eradicated.
"They should push ahead with the reforms so that we the farmers can benefit," NACC chairman Francis Ngone said on September 22.