Farmers on Tuesday sold coffee worth Sh382 million in the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, even as growers in several counties continue protesting poor returns.
In the sale of 9,732 bags, 2,593 bags of premium grade AA coffee were sold, fetching Sh110 million, while 3,950 bags of AB fetched Sh157 million.
About 1,143 bags of grade C coffee worth Sh13 million were sold, 11 bags of grade E worth Sh260,838, while lower grades T and TT sold 368 bags worth Sh5.5 million and 264 bags worth Sh732,978 .
Ibero Kenya Ltd bought the highest amount of coffee of 2,528 bags totalling 157,307kg, followed by Louis Dreyfus Company with 2,297 bags, C Dorman Ltd with 1,405 bags, while KenyaCof procured 1,217 bags.
Alliance Berries was the top seller with 2,637 bags offered, followed by Kirinyaga Slopes Brokerage with 1,937 bags, KCCE Marketing Agency with 412 bags, Kiambu Coffee Marketing with 394 bags and Kinya Coffee Marketing with 278 bags.
The sale happened just days after farmers from Kangunu Coffee Cooperative Society in Mathioya, Murang’a county, protested mismanagement of their cooperative.
The farmers opposed the deduction of five percent of their earnings that the cooperative’s leadership said was contribution towards Kangunu Coffee Farmers Sacco, whose formation the farmers denied approving.
In Murang’a East subcounty, farmers from New Gaturi Coffee Cooperative Society on Tuesday paralysed its operations, saying they would only allow it back to business when issues of mismanagement are resolved.
They want a repeat of the elections and called for transparency in the leadership of the cooperative.
The farmers disrupted operations at the society’s factory, saying they would not allow it to continue operating until issues were streamlined. They wondered why local leaders were unwilling to help resolve them.
“We’ve been waiting for the local leadership to help convene a meeting so we can air our grievances but that is yet to happen,” Mwangi Kimwere, a farmer, said.
Lydia Warurguru, another farmer, said they would not harvest their coffee and they would rather suffer losses than continue with the current leadership.
In Nyeri county, Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya disbanded Barichu Farmers Cooperative Society’s management over poor leadership.
This followed numerous complaints over embezzlement of farmers’ money. The CS called for fresh elections and directed Commissioner for Cooperatives David Obonyo to institute an inquiry into mismanagement of the society.
Source: theStars .co.ke
Original writer: [email protected] (ALICE WAITHERA)