- DSS ensures proceeds are directly deposited to farmers’ accounts, reducing delays that have been forcing farmers to take loans for years.
- A total of 496,440 bags of coffee containing 30,472,708 kilogrammes of coffee had been sold by May 28 this year.
Image: Alice Waithera
Coffee farmers in the country have raked in over Sh17 billion through the Direct Settlement System (DSS) implemented by the government last year.
The farmers have hailed the DSS that they said has streamlined coffee payments and made it possible for them to receive their returns without delays, reducing their dependence on loans that enslaved them for years.
Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) CEO Lisper Ndung’u has said the DSS ensures proceeds are directly deposited to farmers’ accounts, reducing delays.
This, in turn, enhances farmers’ financial stability while reducing financial mismanagement risks.
It also makes it possible to follow up on buyers to ensure farmers’ payments are made promptly with those who fail to pay being pursued by the Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) which is the licencing authority.
According to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) and Capital Markets Authority (CMA), 496,440 bags of coffee containing 30,472,708 kilogrammes of coffee had been sold by May 28 this year.
About Sh11.7 billion was realised from the sale of 287,445 bags of premium grades of AA and AB.
NCE organised sensitisation forums in various counties in the Central region last week during which farmers gave their input on the reforms implemented in the sector over the last several years.
Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said the DSS that is being implemented through the Co-operative bank has enhanced transparency and professionalism in the sector.
“The main responsibility of the system is to make sure farmers and the service providers are paid on time and cushion farmers from seeking expensive loans when their payment is delayed,” said Chelugui.
He said the government is planning to have details of coffee cooperative societies in the DSS system to further streamline payments.
But Mercy Wanja from Rung’eto Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga observed that many farmers have been in the dark about DSS and did not know how it worked.
Wanja challenged the government to create more awareness about the new payment system saying some have been opposing it out of ignorance.
Felix Muriithi, the chairperson of Inoi Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga on his part called on the government to put more efforts towards supporting farmers to improve their productivity to earn more from their produce.
“In our neighboring country Uganda, the government has been supporting farmers to increase their production and the same should be done here. The coffee sector has been over-policed yet little is being done to make it easier for farmers to produce more,” he said.
Kenya Coffee Producers Association chairperson Peter Gikonyo urged the government to consider paying farmers through their co-operatives’ dollar accounts.