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The Nairobian

Long wait for coffee bonus weighs in on poor farmers

News

By Kamundia Muriithi | Sep 09, 2019

**Timothy Mwage tends his coffee at his farm near Karatina town, Nyeri County. PHOTO: KAMUNDIA MURIITHI.**

Coffee farmers in Nyeri County are frustrated and discouraged by the meager pay they earn from their produce after months of hard toil.

The farmers pointed out that coffee farming is a capital intensive venture as they incur a lot in labour, fertiliser, and chemical sprays.

They said payment rates for the last three years have been on a downward trend to the extent that their earnings are barely able to sustain their livelihoods.

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This year most factories were paid around Sh40 per kilogram. Farmers say the minimum they should be paid is Sh100 if the crop was to enable them to lead better lives.

Joseph Wairindi from Kariruini area said the returns have been discouraging and he has been toying with the idea of uprooting his 300 coffee trees. Wairindi who has only one child in school says the coffee proceeds are unable to sufficiently cater for the school fees.

“We have problems in the management of coffee societies. When the integrity of those in leadership is wanting, farmers end up suffering. This is compounded by exploitative middlemen who seek to fleece farmers as much as possible. The first step to salvaging coffee farming is to eliminate the middlemen and have in place sound management,” said Wairindi.

He says currently he cannot afford the expensive sprays yet coffee in his region should be sprayed eight times in a year. Even if he can afford, he fears that production cost would rise astronomically risking losses if coffee prices remain low.

He harvests between 1,500 and 2,000kgs from his 300 stems whereas when the crop used to pay well he had tended it properly and would attain at least 3,000kgs. Timothy Mwage shares similar frustrations saying unless coffee prices improve it will continue to be hard to properly maintain the crop.