Tuesday, September 26, 2023 – Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has moved to assure coffee farmers that the reforms in the subsector are on course but may not be achieved as earlier projected.
Speaking in Nyeri County, Gachagua noted that the reforms in the coffee subsector are not a walk in the park as many think due to the powerful cartels involved.
As a result, he asked farmers to be patient as the Government works on policies to push out cartels.
He disclosed that a cartel composed of four individuals is deeply entrenched in the subsector, adding that they were attempting to sabotage the Government’s plan by creating an artificial crisis in the coffee industry.
“The cartels are entrenched and they are few. They buy coffee at throw-away prices and sell in foreign countries at exorbitant prices. The changes are on course. Amendment of the law will be tabled in Parliament soon. It proposes, among others, that if you are a coffee miller, you cannot be a marketer or a seller. It is one man, one job,” Gachagua stated.
He claimed that one of the reforms being fought by the cartel is the revival of the New KPCU and the Coffee Board of Kenya.
“They (cartels) have united and are trying to create an artificial crisis and propaganda that because of the reforms, the Kenyan coffee has been boycotted, which is a lie.
“They are moving across various offices. I urge the farmers to be patient because it is not an easy or simple fight. It is not for the faint-hearted. It is rough. They are boycotting the coffee to sabotage the reforms,” he alleged.
The DP asked Members of Parliament to support the amendment in order to uplift farmers.
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