Murang'a County government is promising its coffee farmers a Minimum of Sh100 per kilo by mid 2025.

Deputy Governor Stephen Munania told us on Sunday that the county has the lowest price at Sh78 for its coffee compared to other counties in the Central Region Economic Block (CEREB).

The CEREB has Nyandarua, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri and Murang'a counties and collectively produce 70 percent of the country's coffee volumes.

However, official data puts the average price by close of 2021 at Sh67 per kilo, not the Sh78 the Deputy Governor cites, this being an increase from Sh49.76 that prevailed in 2019.

The price performance for 2021 across the county is recorded at the County's Coffee Directorate to be Sh61 for Kiharu farmers, Sh66 for Kandara, Sh77 for Mathioya, and Sh75 for Kangema farmers. 

Kahuro and Gatanga had Sh63 per kilo same as Kigumo farmers. Maragua farmers earned Sh67 per kilo.  

Mr Munania said the county's low prices are as a result of closure of some coffee factories, mills, and societies while others crushed under millions of debt. 

In 2021, the county produced 20.1 million kilos of cherry, this being a growth over time compared with the 15 million kilos the area produced in 2014. 

Area under coffee in Murang’a measures 13,325 ha—1,138 of them being plantations and 12,187 ha being under small scale holdings.

Small scale holdings currently have a membership of 132,546 farmers 15,586 of them being women.

They all deliver their harvests to 128 factories that employ 698 people, 334 of them being females. 

Mr Munania said the farmers have suffered not only in the low prices, but also in consistent and deliberate exploitation along the value chain. 

"The results have been, farmers losing  faith in the sector and are now transforming coffee farms into concrete jungles especially in prime zones of Gatanga, Kandara, and Maragua constituencies. Others have opted for alternative crops in pursuit of better returns," he said.

The Deputy Governor aged 29 years only said all the seven(7) Members of Parliament representing Murang'a County will be whipped to lobby for the withdrawal of June 2022 regulations that sought to undermine the 2019 Crop Act and the CMA (Capital market Authority) act by restricting the farmer from milling, marketing and selling their produce directly to the buyer. 

The MPs are Maragua's Mary Wamaua, Kigumo's Joseph Munyoro, Kangema's Peter Kihungi, Gatanga's Edward Muriu, Kiharu's Ndindi Nyoro, and Chege Njuguna for Kandara.

Mr Munania said there are a myriad of challenges to be addressed that inform the basis on which the county coffee sector turned into servitude.

"Those are the things we will now correct, subsidise production, do value addition, and structure the markets for maximum gain," he said.

Mr Munania said coffee farmers must get freedom to mill, market, and directly sell their coffee to win value for the labour. 

"That is the only way we can create jobs and wealth for our youth and future generations," he said.

He said that the County Assembly will be whipped to introduce thought-out legal interventions to champion the coffee  reforms sector reforms in a bid to deliver the promise of better prices.

The new Murang'a County administration led by Governor Irungu Kang'ata found an ongoing Sh1.5 billion programme that had been mooted by former governor, Mwangi Wa Iria.

The Wa Iria agenda as contained in the Revitalisation of Coffee Sector (2022-2027) sought to see annual income from the farmers increase from the current Sh2.5 billion to Sh12 billion by 2025, paying farmers a Minimum price of Sh86 per kilo.

He had said that the budget would be utilised in sealing all the loopholes that sink earnings, saying the major problem in the value chain is infiltration of criminal cartels that manipulate pricing and computations against the farmers.

Mr Wa Iria had anticipated that the budget would procure exotic coffee seedlings, issuance of subsidised inputs, structuring of pulping facilities, milling, warehousing and creation of seed capital for commencement of paying Return Minimum Guarantee.

The climax of it was captured to be commencement of value addition to area coffee so as to access the market with longer shelf life and higher bargaining power.

“We will start by issuing all our coffee societies with technologically approved seeds so that they can found their own nurseries. They will at society level help farmers change from traditional varieties to high yielding Batian and Ruiru 11 varieties,” Mr Wa Iria programme read in part.

The Wa Iria administration had commenced building of a milling plant in Maragua constituency.

On Wednesday last week, County Coffee Director Irungu Maina said once the plant is complete, a kilo of milled coffee will gain at least Sh16 in market value and which will go directly to the farmers pocket. He added that value addition will see the same kilo gain between Sh200 and Sh300 "of which not less than 80 percent of its net should go directly to the farmer".

According to former Murang'a County Commissioner Mr Karuku Ngumo "any programme aimed at creating employment and wealth in the grassroots wins automatic support by President William Ruto's government.

"The issue of revitalising the Murang'a coffee sector has been long overdue. Over the past 10 years, there have been several efforts to make the sector lucrative. I remain optimistic that we have the ability to realise the beautiful dream," Mr Ngumo said.

Mr Ngumo said his tenure had mobilised County Security Committee to remain awake to the fact that coffee thefts must be tamed saying on average they deny farmers in the area at least 40 percent of their potential pay.

“We aspired to ensure that security is beefed up in all coffee warehouses. We ensure that at all times that the warehouses are stocked, there is an all-round security. If coffee gets stolen in an event where reports had been made to security agents to provide safety, the area security bosses and factory managers were to be the ones to be treated as prime suspects," he said.

He added that village security committees remained mobilised to ensure that coffee thefts in the farms are minimised, something lacking in the current security committee in place.