The behind-the-scenes developments that saw President William Ruto task Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua with overseeing coffee reforms can be revealed, as the DP takes on the duty to fulfil a key campaign pledge that rallied his Mt Kenya base behind their presidential bid.
A fortnight before the President on Monday reorganised his government through an Executive Order that placed the Coffee Sub-Sector Reforms Implementation Standing Committee under the DP’s office, Mr Gachagua had signalled that he was keen to take on the responsibility.
During the funeral of veteran politician Matu Wamae in Mathira late last month, Mr Gachagua cautioned brokers and cartels in the tea and coffee sectors that the government would deal firmly with them.
The committee whose operations he will oversee is mandated to implement recommendations of the National Task Force on Coffee Sub-Sector Reforms appointed in 2016 by then President Uhuru Kenyatta but whose report continues to gather dust on government shelves.
The reforms were informed by concerns that the once thriving coffee sub-sector had lost its shine, with production declining from 130,000 metric tonnes (MT) to an average of 40,000 MT.
To diagnose the problem, the task force tracked coffee proceeds from the auction to the coffee farmer, including the levies and deductions made along the chain. In its report, the task force said it examined factors that affect the farmers’ payouts and their timeliness.
It recommended a coffee value chain that substantially increases farmers’ incomes and provides financial support for production and training.
To revamp the sector, the task force recommended debt waiver, legal reforms, a Sh4 billion subsidy scheme to finance, among others, the provision of affordable fertiliser, the establishment of a coffee cherry advance payment scheme, modernisation of Nairobi Coffee Exchange and marketing of Kenyan coffee.
The team also discouraged delays in payments that forced farmers to borrow or to default on critical family obligations.
Other proposals were for the government to abolish multiple levies that reduced farmers’ earnings but the implementation of these far-reaching proposals appear to have stalled.
“Our government will not sleep until coffee and tea farmers have money in their pockets,” Mr Gachagua said a fortnight ago.
And, on Sunday on Inooro TV, the DP reiterated claims that the implementation of recommendations by the coffee task force had been derailed by people with vested interests in the previous government.
“The guaranteed minimum return will restore farmers’ dignity and this will be achieved through the implementation of the findings of the coffee task force,” he said, adding that Kenyan coffee was in high demand globally yet local farmers were languishing in poverty.
“All this is because, along the value chain, there are a lot of brokers who take the lion’s share of farmers’ incomes,” he said.
Mr Gachagua also noted that the war against cartels in the coffee, tea and dairy sector has not been won because people who were supposed to take care of farmers’ interests were in the same business looking out for their profits.
The Coffee Sub-Sector Reforms Implementation Standing Committee was formed with a brief to ensure the sustainability of a raft of reforms that were recommended by a 19-member National Task Force on Coffee Sub-Sector Reforms.
It was to provide leadership in the implementation of the reforms, review the current framework and subsequently propose changes to align it to current and future needs.
It was to also develop a road map and action plan for the revival of the coffee industry with a focus on production, value addition and marketing.
Former Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said entrusting Mr Gachagua with the role showed that Dr Ruto’s focus went beyond a public relations stunt.
“This is a good thing for him [Mr Gachagua] because he has been given one of the most functional dockets and that is what is important,” he said.
