Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said reforms in the coffee subsector are on course.
He asked farmers to be patient as the government works on policies to push out cartels that have been profiting from their hard work and sweat.
Speaking on Sunday in Othaya, Nyeri County, Gachagua said the government will not relent on the reforms.
He claimed that a key cartel composed of four individuals is deeply entrenched in the subsector and that it is even attempting to sabotage the government's plan by creating an artificial crisis in the coffee industry.
"The cartels are entrenched and they are few. They buy coffee at throw away prices and sell in foreign countries at exorbitant prices. The changes are on course," the DP said.
Gachagua added that proposed amendments to various laws that regulate coffee business will be tabled in Parliament soon.
He asked MPs to support the amendment in order to uplift farmers.
"Amendment of the law will be tabled in Parliament soon. It proposes, among others, that if you are a coffee miller, you cannot be a marketer or a seller. It is one man, one job."
One of the reforms being fought by the cartel, he said, is the revival of the New KPCU and the Coffee Board of Kenya.
Gachagua said the cartels are engineering an artificial crisis in the subsector as a method to fight back the reforms.
"They (cartels) have united and are trying to create an artificial crisis and propaganda that because of the reforms, the Kenyan coffee has been boycotted, which is a lie," Gachagua said.
"They are moving across various offices. I urge the farmers to be patient because it is not an easy or simple fight. It's a battle that is not simple and not for the faint hearted. It is rough. They are boycotting the coffee to sabotage the reforms."
Gachagua assured farmers that tea subsector was not badly off since the annual advance payments (bonus) to smallholder farmers has increased this year.
Various tea factories across the country that are managed by Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) last week declared higher bonus payments compared to previous years.
The DP added that the government is working on measures that will increase the farm-gate price of the commodity to Sh60 per litre.
He urged the residents to continue supporting the government.
Gachagua spoke at Kagere PCEA Church where he attended Sunday Service and fundraiser for the institution.
He was accompanied by a host of leaders including Governors Mutahi Kahiga (Nyeri) and Susan Kihika (Nakuru), Senators Wahome Wamatinga (Nyeri) and Veronica Maina (Nominated), Nyeri Woman Representative Mukami Wachira, area MP Wambugu Wainaina, Nyeri county assembly speaker Gichuhi Mwangi and Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira among others.
