• Factories have been competing and marketing their coffee individually, making them susceptible to conmen.
• Mismanagement of factories has also been blamed for the near-collapse of the sector, with some factories paying Sh19 per kg while others pay Sh90.
The Murang'a county government will consolidate operations of all coffee factories to stem mismanagement, low prices and theft.
Governor Mwangi wa Iria said on Thursday that he has met coffee farmers' representatives from the factories and they agreed to work together and harmonise activities to strengthen the sector.
He said the county has 146 factories that form 42 coffee co-operative societies, which then form the Mugama Union, an umbrella of county saccos.
"Board members of the union and coffee factories delegates have agreed that working together is the only way to move the sector forward by harmonising management and marketing," the governor said.
He said the union is not fully in charge of the sector as the factories operate as semi-autonomous entities, especially in the marketing that makes them vulnerable to conmen.
Wa Iria said the county government aims at consolidating the union to make it responsible for everything happening in the factories so the county can partner with only one entity.
The county will then dedicate resources to straighten out the sector, he said, but it can only do that through a "clean union".
The county boss said the union has a capital base of more than Sh2 billion yet some factories are on the verge of being auctioned over debts.
We cannot leave factories to sort out their issues. The county has to intervene. We should have a minimum of how much a factory should pay to regulate prices.GoMurang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria
"The factories even borrow from buyers, which gives them the advantage of dictating prices at the expense of farmers," Wa Iria said.
The partnership will create a more competitive borrowing framework that will enable the union to borrow competitively on behalf of the factories.
The county government has already formed a coffee revival board that is drafting a blueprint on reviving the sector.
He said some factories pay Sh9 per kilogram while others pay Sh90 and asked what causes such huge disparities.
"We cannot leave the factories to sort out their own issues. The county government has to intervene. We should have a minimum of how much a factory should pay to regulate prices," he said.
Following the engagements with farmers, the agreements will be enacted including a review of the union's bylaws to allow the county government to intervene.
It will also enable the county to second government managers that will be under its payroll to work hand in hand with the factory managers and provide oversight.
The governor said that over three years his administration will invest in reviving the sector that supports about 80 per cent of the population.
"If we don't do anything, we put the lives of about a million people at risk," he said.
Wa Iria said an audit by the county in factories early in the year will also inform the changes.
He said that the sector's main challenge is mismanagement of factories, coffee co-operative societies and disintegration of operations.
Many factories have been fighting for autonomy to avoid accountability which he said defeats the purpose of a co-operative movement, which is to pool resources.
Wa Iria said the factories will also do common milling by reviving a mill bought by the union years ago.
The mill lies idle as each factory sells its coffee to its preferred miller yet it was procured by their co-operative.
"We will consolidate milling and marketing to gain economies of scale and common negotiations for better prices," he said.
The new union will also provide a consolidated procurement of farm inputs sold to farmers at the most competitive prices.
(Edited by V. Graham)