Coffee farmers are set to benefit from Sh1.5 billion subsidised fertiliser to lower cost of production and boost profit margins.
Deputy President William Ruto said the fertiliser would be distributed this financial year, the same way maize farmers and others benefit from the subsidy programme.
Speaking at St Thomas Moore, Kairuri Catholic Parish in Embu County, the DP said there were concerns that the coffee farmers incurred huge expenses through crop husbandry, and thus there was a need to assist them.
“The subsidised fertiliser will help farmers increase their profit margins. We will help them the same way other farmers get government support,” he said.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Njeru Ndwiga said they had come up with a proposal to subject all coffee factories to audit to ensure farmers’ earnings are not looted by corrupt officials.
The Embu Senator cited Mwiria coffee factory, where he said farmers’ earnings had significantly dwindled despite increased yields and quality of beans.
“This is the perfect example of the rot in the coffee sector. Farmers sell their coffee there, but they end up getting nothing, sometimes even negative. The audit was done and we are waiting for the report. We will also order audit of all coffee factories to see where the rain started beating us,” said Mr Ndwiga.
He added that the senate’s ad hoc committee on tea would be going round the country collecting views from farmers to help improve the sector.
Mr Ndwiga said the committee members had received complaints from farmers and they would be moving to various tea buying centres to collect opinions and make recommendations aimed at improving the sector.
The meetings are set to begin this Friday at Kianjokoma in Embu. “Tea and coffee farmers have suffered for long. We went round and found many problems in the tea sector. Now we want to meet the farmers and hear the actual problems that affect them,” said Mr Ndwiga.
Mr Ruto also announced that the government would supply 20 milk coolers to farmers in Embu to promote dairy farming and value addition ventures.
