With the decline in auction prices, Nyeri’s coffee producers are calling on the government to implement the stabilization fund it promised.
They are requesting that the government hasten the creation and implementation of the Guaranteed Minimum Return (GMR) on their produce, which will protect farmers against low prices and set a price cap of Sh120 and Sh150 per kilo.
There are concerns that farmers would earn half that amount, or less, this year. Historically, farmers paid more than Sh100 each kilogram of coffee they delivered to their separate factories, depending on quantity, quality, and the markets their millers sold to.
A 50kg bag of coffee is currently selling for between (USD180-USD200) at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, compared to rates at this time last year that ranged between (USD350 and USD600).
With Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in charge of coffee reforms, Mr. John Gitonga, a farmer who delivers his produce to Kamuyu Factory, said they anticipated coffee prices to be among the primary issues to be addressed.
The management of Kamuyu factory has told farmers that they will earn less than Sh70 per kilo of coffee they delivered, down from Sh90 per kilo they were paid last year.