Coffee farmers are accusing the Agriculture ministry of locking them out of the ongoing discussions to change laws in the sub-sector.
The National Coffee Cooperative Union has written to Parliament complaining that the Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) locked them out of its offices, denying them an opportunity to present their petition on the Draft Crops (Coffee) (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022.
The union claims the representatives of over 700,000 farmers drawn from all over the country turned up at Tea House, where they were reportedly kicked out by organisers of the event on the grounds that they were not on the list of guests, despite it being a public participation meeting.
They claim previous attempts by the ministry to change the law have been thwarted by Parliament because of insufficient consultation with stakeholders.
“The AFA team stated that they had done special invite to a few chosen people and the rest of the public was locked out,” said Francis Ngone, the chairman of the union. “This is a violation of our constitutional right, and we request you to consider this public participation forum illegal and recommend that the outcome of today’s forum be annulled for non-compliance with the Constitution and relevant statutes.”
But AFA said the farmers stormed the validation meeting demanding access, yet there was limited capacity to accommodate them. The ministry said 12 memoranda they received from farmers’ unions informed changes in the draft regulations.
The government claims the unions are unhappy with the push to cut operation expenses from 20 to five per cent and term limits on management to two terms whereas some chairmen have served for decades.
County governments have also protested against removing the milling licence from their purview by Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, as well as setting conditions for them on how to issue warehouse and roaster licences.
“The council is also concerned and opposed to the proposals to amend regulation 10 by removing the milling licence from the purview of the county and returning the same to AFA, as well as the new additional requirements prescribed before counties can issue warehouse and roaster licence,” the Council of Governors said in a letter to Mr Munya in January.
Head of Coffee Directorate Enosh Akuma said county governments would still be involved in issuing milling licences, but marketing licences linked to international markets will reside at the ministry.
“County governments will still approve the milling licences and AFA will issue the marketing licence as this touches on international trade, international standards, complaints, and rules of origin that only the national government has the mandate to handle,” he said.
Coffee sector reforms have faced constant assault for trying to remove cartels from the value chain and thrust farmers to the centre, giving them priority in payment and allowing them to sell directly to the international market.
Since the enactment of the Crops (Coffee) (General) Regulations, 2019, and the Capital Markets (Coffee Exchange) Regulations, 2020, there have been several proposed regulations, including Crops (Coffee) (General) Regulations, 2021, and the current Crops (Coffee) (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022.
The Agriculture ministry, led by Mr Munya, is fighting to reclaim its oversight over sector sales and licensing, while cartels in the sector are fighting the direct settlement system that would have seen Wanjiku instruct the bank on what deductions to be made on her money. Millers and brokers would then send their invoices to the bank, which would settle everyone’s bills instantly.
Coffee farmers, county governments, and the CMA are fighting back to protect the new rules from mutilations in what might shape the future of one of the country’s leading foreign exchange-earners.
After years of task forces, research, consultations, drafts and legal scrubbing the government launched new laws shifting coffee trading companies as well as the weekly commodity auction under the ambit of CMA.
CMA would cover all key coffee trading functions, including licensing of brokers, and establishment of companies trading in the commodity, as the establishment of a direct settlement system would guarantee speedy and transparent payment of proceeds from sales.
However, Agriculture Minister Peter Munya has been protesting that the markets regulator has no role in coffee matters.
While the top honchos in suits fight over turf and papers, the farmer misses out on the opportunity for the first time to earn her money first and pay hangers-on along the value chain.
In the new 2021 Coffee Bill introduced by the CS, the system is retained but diluted where buyers will have seven days to remit money and factories and societies can still get the farmers' cash so long as they obtain a resolution to deduct money for capital development and a nod from the ministry.
They are also entitled to five percent of the value of coffee sold net of the milling, warehousing, and marketing costs for operations and maintenance.
Factories and societies and not farmers will be the ones supplying the system with payment details and the Minister would develop regulations for managing and operating the direct payments system.
