Coffee societies are shunning away from the Sh3 billion coffee cherry advance kitty arguing that it is designed to benefit large-scale farmers.
The kitty was part of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s goodies package outlined for farmers in April 2019 to support their activities.
However, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya regretted that farmers have not benefited from the Sh3 billion even as Kenyatta added a Sh1 billion input subsidy in his Mashujaa Day speech last year.
“All that money is lying idle in the bank as our officers, cooperative societies and New KPCU dilly dally,” Munya said.
“In the meantime, more than 300,000 farmers in 32 counties are not happy with the President, his government and my ministry.”
According to the CS, farmers were supposed to start accessing the funds at a 3 per cent interest rate since July 1, 2019, but officials barred them by refusing to sign the document that would see the money released to the various coffee societies’ accounts.
Speaking in Embu on Friday, Munya, said the officials have been declining to sign the document, “to satisfy their personal interests”.
He gave two weeks’ ultimatum to the Embu county-based society officials to sign the document failure to which he will kick them out of the office, and allow farmers to elect new leaders.
“In two weeks’, time, I will have the county administration taking the documents to various societies and have them signed by the officials. Those who will not sign the document within the two weeks, I will personally lead the farmers in overthrowing them and elect new ones,” said Munya.
He added that some officials have been working with financial institutions to overcharge interest rates to farmers.
The former Meru County governor said the Sh3 billion cherry advance revolving fund has faced corruption challenges since its introduction by Kenyatta.
According to Munya this forced his ministry to intervene and fire some heads in the coffee sector and he might follow the same suit in the county coffee societies until farmers get what is due to them.
Further, Munya urged farmers to continue registration so as to allow KCPU process biometric cards that will allow them services such as access to farm inputs in subsidized cost from the government.
He said the government has funded coffee sector with Sh1billion to ensure farmers benefit with 40 per cent subsidized farm inputs.
However, farmers and society managers say the mode of disbursement is to blame.
Just Sh100 million has been given to farmers across the country since the launch of the scheme.
Before the ministry introduced the plan, Meru Coffee Millers Union (MCMU) had secured Sh250 million from Cooperative Bank and started disbursing the advance to farmers.
