Agriculture CS Peter Munya has threatened to dissolve coffee societies management committees that will not sign application forms for farmers applying for coffee cherry advance in two weeks.
The CS directed the national government administrative officials to ensure the forms are signed for farmers to receive money and pay 60 per cent of the farm inputs.
He spoke during the launch of the sensitisation forum for the coffee inputs subsidy programme at Karatina Stadium in Nyeri on Thursday
The programme run by the new KPCU is meant to provide coffee farmers with affordable farm inputs.
Farmers will pay 60 per cent for the price of inputs while the government will pay 40 per cent.
However, Munya said only a small amount has been borrowed since the money was availed following orders by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The president availed the subsidy and the coffee cherry advance revolving fund to improve the livelihoods of farmers.
Munya said farmers will start receiving a swipe card in the next two weeks to enable them to procure the inputs in registered stores connected with the bank.
He urged KPCU to hasten the process and issue the cards by the end of February, for farmers to start tending to their coffee bushes in preparation for next year’s crop.
The CS said some committee members have not been communicating to farmers about the funds while others have been reluctant to sign the form despite sensitisation forums with officials.
Munya said the information could also be distorted, a reason why farmers have not received the cherry advance money.
Cherry advance fund is loaned to farmers at an interest rate of three per cent, to improve their coffee.
The security of the loan is supposed to be the coffee delivered at the factory.
The government gave out Sh1 billion to help subsidise farm inputs.
Kieni MP Kanini Kega who is the chairman of the budget and appropriation committee in the national assembly said fertiliser was selling at Sh6000 per bag.
The lawmaker said in the supplementary budget, the government will be allowed to incur an expenditure of Sh1 billion, to subsidise the fertiliser to coffee farmers.
He said there is Sh1 billion subsidy for tea and Sh1.5 billion for sugarcane farmers bringing the amount to Sh3.5 billion.
“The government has set aside the amount and we have allowed it to incur that expenditure to mitigate the high cost of fertiliser,” he said.
He urged MPs to consider adding some more funds to the kitty, raising it from Sh3.5 billion to Sh5 billion.
He said if fertiliser prices can be reduced to Sh3000 or Sh2000 per bag, farmers will be relieved and enable them to earn more from selling the crop.
New KPCU managing director Timothy Mirugi said the programme will be rolled out as soon as farmers register for it.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
