State to waive Sh176 million owed by Embu Coffee Mills – Kindiki

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has said that the government will waive the Sh176 million owed to Embu Coffee Mills.

Speaking on Saturday, during a coffee farmers’ engagement at Kavutiri Primary School grounds in Runyenjes, Embu County, Kindiki said the government has allocated Sh7 billion available to farmers under the Coffee Cherry Advance Fund.

This is even as he called for stricter governance of the cooperatives to get rid of unscrupulous managers out to misappropriate farmers’ earnings.

“We must make sure the governance of cooperatives is streamlined. We must not allow mismanagement of coffee societies. Some managers have taken loans attracting high interest rates yet the government has allocated money under the Coffee Advance Cherry Fund at affordable interest rates,” he said.

The Deputy President said coffee reforms are being intensified to improve earnings for farmers following better returns recorded this year.

He said the government is fully focused on streamlining the sub-sector in a bid to further raise the pay for farmers who received the highest returns in many years.

“We promised deserving pay for farmers and guaranteed minimum returns. In our manifesto, we promised to raise the pay to at least Sh100 per kg of cherry. We have raised above Sh100 in only two years in office. It is possible to raise further than the Sh150 farmers are receiving now in some areas,” Kindiki said.

He noted that the Coffee Bill 2025 and Cooperatives Bill 2025 that are set to institute more reforms are currently being finalised.

He said the two Bills will further streamline the coffee sub-sector for farmers to earn more.

He said other reforms include issuance of one license per actor in the value chain to avert multiplicity of roles that have been a source of mistreatment of farmers for a long time.

Presently, one can only get one license for either farming, milling, brokerage and marketing as per stringent policy change implemented by the government.

Payment has also been enhanced and farmers receive their pay within five days of sale at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.

Kindiki also promised enhancement of availability and distribution of subsidised fertilizer so it is accessible at the right time for farmers.

“We will also subsidise pesticides to ease the financial pressure on farmers. Most of us were educated from coffee proceeds. It was black gold and eased lives for many families. We are working on ensuring that we get back to this so we significantly empower the people who rely on this crop,” he added.

The DP further cautioned against mixing petty politics with development issues, insisting that this will only cause more suffering to the people.

“We don’t want to engage in petty politics because we will waste time and wananchi will suffer. This is our government, we elected it and it is serving us.”

Kindiki promised more development projects for the Mt Kenya region as promised by President William Ruto during the recent tour.

He vowed to ensure faster implementation of all the projects launched.

“The work you assigned us we are on it. We are working hard to fulfil it so that when we come for your support, we will have a scorecard to show.”