Tea, coffee reforms bearing fruit, Gachagua says

Workers sort out coffee cherry at Kirimara-Mutanga Coffee factory yard in Nyeri. [File, Standard] The ongoing reforms in coffee and tea sub-sectors are bearing fruit as farmers earn more money, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said. Gachagua attributed this to the government-driven reforms and interventions. He said small scale farmers concerns over operational and overhead costs of their respective trading entities have resulted in increased transparency and accountability. Gachagua noted that the annual bonus payout for over 800,000 small-scale farmers supplying green leaf tea to Kenya Tea Development Agency managed factories has improved. "Looking at the figures, the bonus payment in most KTDA factories has improved and is higher in a number of factories especially in the East of the Rift Valley," he said. He attributed demonstrations in some tea factories (West of the Rift Valley) as part of the reforms initiated in educating the small-scale farmers. "Demonstration are in places where the tea directors have increased the cost of production. Directors have had too many travels and allowances so the cost of production is eating on the profit of the tea farmer. Because of the reforms the farmers are aware," he said. Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Friday night, the DP assured that farmers will gain more, after the Tea Act is fully implemented following withdrawal of court cases that were a stumbling block. "I held the tea conference in Kericho and brought together all stakeholders. But there was a big problem with the implementation of the Tea Act because various stakeholders had gone to court. Through my intervention, I have successfully negotiated all those cases to be dropped and the Tea Act will be implemented to the later and farmers will get a return on investment," said Mr Gachagua. He revealed that he has unlocked the stalemate at Mombasa tea auction and the stocks are now moving. "We had a challenge with tea from the western region of the Rift Valley (Kericho, Bomet and Nandi) because they had set a reserved price that was too high against the quality, therefore, stocks were not moving. I went to Mombasa Auction and we have adjusted the reserved price, brought it a little down so that the stocks can move," he said. On the coffee industry, the DP said the Government is banking on legal amendment proposals in the Coffee Bill 2023 and Cooperatives Bill 2023, which are pending before Parliament, to turn around the sub-sector. The Bills are as a result of reforms initiated after a robust conversation with farmers and other stakeholders in the Meru Coffee Conference in 2023. However, the DP said, earnings of coffee farmers have improved this year since the majority of them pocketed an average of Sh100 per kilogramme of coffee delivered to their respective factories. "I had a very successful coffee reforms conference in Meru, bringing together all stakeholders. Out of that conference, we have worked with all stakeholders and come out with the Coffee Bill 2023 that is now before the National Assembly. In that Bill, we have recommended the reestablishment of the Coffee Board of Kenya to market coffee for farmers instead of private entrepreneurs," he said. Another recommendation in the Bill, he said, is the revival of the Coffee Research Foundation to work on disease tolerant crop varieties. Gachagua explained that since he was tasked by President William Ruto to lead reforms, the Government has been able to initiate Direct Sales Settlement system where coffee farmers sell their produce directly and receive their proceeds directly through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, which he reopened in August 2023. "Under my watch we have reopened Nairobi Coffee Exchange and coffee auctions are taking place every week. Once the Bill is approved by Parliament and assented to by the President (President William Ruto), all the reforms we have been working on will be complete and farmers will get their money," he said. "Through our interventions a lot of coffee societies are getting over Sh100 per kilogram in terms of prices and our ideal price is Sh150," he said.

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