Coffee farmers in Kiambu can now process their produce locally, thanks to the Government’s intervention.
The County Department of Agriculture, livestock and irrigation has issued licenses to Sasini PLC Millers and Kofinaf Company Limited.
Sasini PLC Millers is as subsidiary of Sasini (K) LTD whose buyers’ license was allotted by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) while Kofinaf Company Limited is affiliated to C Dorman Limited who are now managed By Coffee Management Services (CMS) and are listed as buyers.
Other millers issued with licenses include Komothai Coffee Society and the Aberdare Limited, both small scale coffee farmers operating within Kiambu.
The permits were handed over to the millers’ representatives by the Ag County Secretary and Head of Public Service, Peter Ndegwa.
Chief Officer for Crop Production, Irrigation and Marketing Benson Njoroge acknowledged a need for millers to be closer to coffee farmers’ hence cutting production and distribution cost.
“This will make sure coffee farmers across the county will be well served by the licensed millers, as they are evenly distributed in the coffee-growing areas,” Njoroge said.
He further added that the licenses will ensure compliance by the millers to operate within the rules of the permits by complying with the laid-down regulations.
Kiambu Coffee farmers in January this year were up in arms against the government over the delicensing of most private millers in the county.
The farmers claimed that most millers in the coffee-growing county have shut down milling business after they failed to secure operational licenses from the county government as required by Coffee Regulations 2019.
Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui during a meet the farmers’ tour in Kiambu in January this year said they had given the county governments the mandate to license coffee millers but licensing of marketers and brokers will fall under the Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA)
The move comes after coffee farmers expressed their concern of the industry being taken hostage by one or two cartels that are deeply entrenched not only in coffee but other agricultural sub-sectors.
“Last year Government fertiliser was available at Sh3500 but because of cartels we have been forced to pay Sh5000,” George Nduati, a coffee farmer in Kiambu says such price hikes by cartels have led to heavy losses.
The issuance of licenses to the millers comes as ongoing reforms in the coffee sector continue to take shape.
In an Executive Order issued January 9 this year, President Ruto tasked Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua with overseeing the implementation of coffee reforms, with the key itinerary of weeding out cartels across the crop’s value chain.
The nationwide reforms have seen the Government target increased coffee production from the current 50,000 metric tons annually to 200,000 metric tons within five years.
By Xavier Brian
