Meru sets up coffee miller to prop farmers’ income

By KATHURE MUKURU

Meru, Kenya: Meru Governor Peter Munya has launched the first ever County Coffee Miller Co-operative Union which will see all coffee produced in the county processed at a common place.

The miller will help farmers get more profits as the county will take  charge of value addition, branding and marketing of all the coffee from Meru.

Speaking during the launch at the former Kenya Planters Co-operative Union plant on Friday, Munya said the county government had released Sh2.5 million for the lease of the former KPCU milling plant for the first year of operation. The money was released through a partnership with various agricultural departments.

“Our coffee used to be a leading income earner in the late 1990s, but in recent years the earnings have significantly declined,” he said.

Radical change

Munya said production had decreased sharply since 1995 when the county produced 63 million kilogrames of coffee. Last year, the county produced 19 million kilograms only.

“Starting the process of milling and marketing in the county is going to radically change the current structure of the coffee market because the county will also be in control of the value chain,” said Munya.

He said the Meru County Government had acknowledged various challenges facing farmers, ranging from unpredictable global prices, erratic weather, high cost of farm inputs, low and delayed payments, non-transparent leadership and low levels of value addition.

“The only way we can improve such challenges and improve the farmer’s earnings is to process, brand and sell the coffee as a premium product,” he said.

The recent average payments to farmers of Sh20 to Sh35 per kilo could be immensely improved, the governor said.

The Meru County Government, through the Department of Cooperatives, will undertake strategies like market trends analysis and research to ensure the prices per kilo improve. The governor also said leadership issues had been a major challenge previously and had caused the collapse of the sector, but his government would ensure transparency and accountability was observed as spelt out in the Constitution.

Rich produce

“The time to take control of our production is now and we are no longer going to let cartels that have monopolised the value chain for many years take us back to poverty while our production is evidently rich,” he added.

Munya urged the farmers to take advantage of the mill and ensure they are registered in groups and Saccos that would also benefit from subsidised fertiliser at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) through the Department of Agriculture.