• Makori said due to high demand, some brokers go to the extent of killing night guards to steal coffee.
• He said the 22 societies and 72 factories in the region need to be refurbished to serve the farmers well.
Coffee farmers in Kisii and Homa Bay have attributed the theft of coffee beans from factories to the rising number of brokers.
Farmers' representatives Edward Makori and Robert Abuga said they have been exploited for a long time and they want the two county governments to support them.
Makori said due to high demand, some brokers go to the extent of killing night guards to steal coffee.
“A number have been losing their lives in the hands of goons hired by brokers so they can steal coffee from factories. This is sad,” he said on Monday.
He spoke during a meeting at Kisii Agricultural Training College.
“Brokers have been exploiting us for many years because they buy our produce at throw away prices then they sell at exorbitant prices at the international market,” Makori said.
He said the 22 societies and 72 factories in the region need to be refurbished to serve the farmers well.
Abuga urged the new Kenya Planters Cooperative Union to increase the price of coffee from Sh57 to Sh150.
Present during the meeting were Agriculture CAS Lawrence Amuhaka, Commissioner of Cooperatives David Obonyo and Kisii Agriculture executive Ezman Onsarigo.
Amuhaka advised farmers to elect leaders who have planted and know the challenges the coffee sector faces.
He said farmers allow some people who do not even own a single coffee bush to participate in their meetings, something he said was wrong.
“How can you [farmers] allow people who have not planted even a single coffee bush in your meetings? Only farmers who have coffee bushes should be allowed in those meetings because they understand the challenges they face,” Amuhaka said.
He also said the government has allocated Sh5 billion to subsidise fertiliser for coffee farmers.
Amuhaka said there has been poor production because farmers were unable to purchase fertiliser.
The CAS said the ministry will be working closely with new Kenya Planters Cooperative Union to ensure farmers get the input at a shared cost.
“Farmers have been getting poor yields from their produce but this will be a thing of the past because the government has allocated Sh5 billion for subsidised fertiliser. This will be done through cost-sharing,” Amuhaka said.
Edited by A.N