MCAs oppose new coffee buyer in Kericho amid legal dispute

Members of the county assembly say that the investment is against the law and will be harmful to the farmers . 

A fresh dispute has emerged in the coffee sector in Kericho County after Members of the County Assembly opposed plans by a new coffee company seeking to establish coffee pulping and buying operations in the region.

 The legislators claimed the proposed venture contravenes provisions of the  Coffee Act 2026, warning that allowing private entities to buy coffee cherries directly from farmers could destabilize the sector and undermine cooperative societies.

 Speaking at the County Assembly, Majority Leader Phillip Rono said farmers from 14 wards in the county had invested heavily in the coffee industry through cooperative movements and should be protected from exploitation.

 “We have 14 wards in Kericho County which have ventured into coffee farming. Farmers invested heavily to build Kipkelion Coffee Cooperative Union, which has been given the licence to mill and sell coffee cherry on behalf of farmers. If we allow the new entity, which flouts the law, to make an entry, it will destroy the coffee sector in Kericho County,” said Rono.

 Rono further argued that the law bars individuals or entities without coffee plantations or registered farmers under cooperative societies from operating pulping and buying centres.

 “The regulations on opening a pulping centre require at least five acres of coffee for a private person to establish such a facility. How does this company qualify yet it does not own any land in Kipkelion West Constituency?” said Rono.

 The Majority Leader maintained that the regulations were introduced to safeguard farmers from exploitation by middlemen, improve traceability of coffee produce, reduce theft and strengthen cooperative societies involved in coffee marketing.

 Londiani MCA Vincent Korir also criticised the planned entry of the company into the coffee business, calling on the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFFA), the county government and other regulators to block what he termed unlawful operations.

 “We are calling on the Agriculture and Food Authority, the county government of Kericho and regulators in the coffee sector not to allow unscrupulous business owners to infiltrate the coffee business in Kericho,” said Korir.

 The Londiani MCA further appealed to the Ministry of Cooperatives to intervene and ensure coffee quality standards are maintained.

 “If the quality of  coffee cherry is interfered with, then coffee prices will tumble because buyers will reject our coffee,” said Korir.

 The dispute comes at a time when coffee farming is increasingly gaining popularity in parts of Kericho County as farmers diversify from tea and maize farming in search of better earnings.