Coffee Farmers Oppose Payment Plan Via Nairobi Coffee Exchange

Coffee farmers under the Gatagua Cooperative Society in the Kiharu constituency have rejected the directive by CS Wycliffe Oparanya requiring coffee farmers to receive their earnings directly from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, among other directives.

On December 7, Oparanya directed that beginning January 2025, all coffee farmers would receive their earnings directly from the NCE, a move the farmers have complained will cost them more harm than good.

The farmers have raised concerns, stating that while the directive aims to streamline payment services, it fails to address systemic issues. The farmers maintained that they would be paid by the society, which offers transparency and offers room for inquiry.

Speaking during the annual general meeting on Saturday, January 4, the farmers maintained that the directive does not address the pressing issues they face within their societies.

“The spirit of the cooperative will die because farmers will see this as an avenue where their rights are denied because when it comes to payment they don’t have a say,” the chairman of the society revealed.

According to the farmers, instead of the government imposing new directives, it should focus on resolving the challenges affecting the operations. They argue that the government’s priority should be aligned with their needs to ensure effective support.

“If they want to help us as coffee farmers, they should first pay the extension officers so they can come and educate us on ways to do better lucrative farming and generate more revenue,” a member of the society advised.

The farmers have complained that their productivity has decreased due to the lack of subsidised fertilisers, which, despite the government’s promise to provide, they have never received for three years now.

“The government has never helped us, it has not given us any fertiliser, so we plead with them to let us sell our coffee the way we are used to,” another member decried.

The directive by the government mandates all cooperative societies to lodge service contracts and liabilities with commercial banks for settlement through the direct settlement system.

This directive is part of ten other directives issued by the CS on November 18 and was directed to all coffee co-operatives, unions, associations, estates, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, and Direct Settlement System providers.

Oparanya in the notice directed that cooperative societies’ administrative and operational costs be capped at 20 per cent of gross coffee earnings, subject to periodic review by the Commissioner for Co-operatives.