A farmer tends her coffee crop in Nyeri County. file photo | nmg
Summary
- The Coffee Directorate is partnering with Co-operative Bank and the Meru County government in the pilot phase of the programme that, if successful, will be extended to coffee farmers countrywide.
- The monthly payments are part of the total amounts due to each farmer for a season’s deliveries, and are being computed using past delivery records and reconciled with actual deliveries at the end of the season before final payments are made.
- Regular payment is the latest attempt to woo farmers back to coffee growing after many years of disillusionment arising from mismanagement of the sector and the resulting late payments.
Coffee sector regulator has embarked on a plan that will pay
farmers monthly for bean deliveries instead of the current six-month
cycle that has left many producers struggling to meet their financial
obligations.
The Coffee Directorate on Wednesday said it was partnering with Co-operative Bank
and the Meru County government in the pilot phase of the programme
that, if successful, will be extended to coffee farmers countrywide.
“We
are piloting the programme in Meru before rollout in other coffee
growing regions. Paying farmers part of their earnings on a monthly
basis should help minimise the pain they go through with the current
delays,” said Grenville Kiplimo Melli, head of the directorate.
The
monthly payments are part of the total amounts due to each farmer for a
season’s deliveries, and are being computed using past delivery records
and reconciled with actual deliveries at the end of the season before
final payments are made.
Mr Melli said the aim is to break the current cycle that only pays farmers after their produce is sold.
Under
the programme, which starts with the April crop, Co-operative Bank will
finance farmers unions with county governments acting as guarantors and
recover its money from the sales proceeds.
The bank
acknowledged that it is working with the directorate, but did not
disclose interest charged on the funds. Final payments will be made once
the crop has been sold at the auction.
Regular payment
is the latest attempt to woo farmers back to coffee growing after many
years of disillusionment arising from mismanagement of the sector and
the resulting late payments.
Kenya’s coffee output
dropped from about 200,000 tonnes a year in early 1980s to an average of
40,000 tonnes currently as disgruntled farmers uprooted the crop in
favour of other economic activities. The directorate estimates that this
year’s total output will rise to 55,000 tonnes this year a 15,000
tonnes rise from last year’s 40,000 tonnes.
Mr
Melli was speaking at a coffee workshop organised by African Fine
Coffees Association (AFCA) in Nairobi. AFCA executive director Samuel
Kamau said low youth involvement is partly to blame for poor performance
of coffee as a cash crop in Kenya.
“The system does
not support inclusion of the youth in agriculture and their absence has
subsequently led to continuous decline of output,” said Mr Kamau.
“To
correct the situation we must adopt modern technology in the sector to
attract the youth,” he added. Kenya’s coffee continues to fetch premium
price in the world market, making it the most valued beverage at the New
York Exchange, which is the world’s largest auction for the commodity.
Kenya’s
Arabica, which is highly sought by roasters for blending with other
coffees, fetched $330 for a 50 kilo bag in last week’s trading with
Indonesian produce coming in second at $259 for a 50 kg bag.
Despite
Kenya’s coffee being in high demand in world markets, the country only
accounts for 0.5 per cent of the total global output.
No comments :
Post a Comment