The Vihiga county government has drafted a Bill to protect tea and coffee farmers from brokers.
Governor Wilber Ottichilo said farmers from the region have suffered for long at the hands of middlemen who reap from the produce at their expense.
He said once enacted, the law will enable local farmers to get more profits. He addressed residents of Vihiga Central in Majengo.
Ottichilo warned brokers that their time is up since passage of the Bill will pave way for hefty penalties.
“Recently, a fact-finding mission by a team from Vihiga to Kericho county revealed that we are not doing so well in tea farming because we have allowed middlemen on the market. As a government we have moved swiftly to put in measures to deal with this once and for all,” he said.
“Poor management of coffee cooperatives disoriented farmers leading to collapse of the enterprise in the region and yet our produce is one of the best in the country.”
The Bill to lock out tea and coffee brokers has already been presented to the county assembly.
