The Mountain Journal
A coffee cooperative society previously riddled with leadership wrangles and confusion in the payment of coffee to the farmers has been transformed with management offering incentives.
In the past, the members at Kangunu farmers cooperative society in Mathioya, Murang’a suffered after expelling of the farmers who raised objections to the leader’s proposal
The John Chege led committee after its election two years ago received support from the government of 20,000 coffee seedlings and a milk collection truck to assist in reduction of cost of production.
Chege last week received from President William Ruto’s a milk collection truck, and immediately announced an increase of milk payment to Sh 46 up by a shilling after the reduced cost of production.
“Since the truck will be doing four rounds the committee will be paying farmers at the rate of Sh 46 per litre up from Sh 45 per litre :” he said
He appreciated the efforts made by MPs Edwin Mugo and Betty Maina of Mathioya and Murang’a respectively for lobbying for the distribution of 20,000 coffee seedlings in a strategy to increase production.
Mugo and Maina on Friday last week returned to Kangunu coffee factory to celebrate the achievements made in the two years since the government-backed commission of inquiry that exposed the rot which had devastated the Mathioya-based cooperative society.
The MPs outlined that Kangunu farmers society got transformative leadership with those entrusted working through determination to increase the gains to the farmers, compared to the past management committee that allegedly misappropriated the resources.
Mugo said, the Chege-led management committee has managed to stabilise prices and streamline returns for active farmers to the society after they were expelled by the former management committee.
In the payment to the farmers, in the year Kangunu society in Mathioya, under rehabilitation after a severe destruction, paid the farmers at the rate of Sh 133 per kilogramme of cherry, up from Sh 50 of the previous year.
“The government lauds the transformation made by Kangunu farmers in two years, after the years of exploitation by the former management to the extent that many had abandoned coffee farming,” said Mugo.
Last year Kangunu payment was Sh 125 per kgs and this year it is Sh 133 per kgs of cherry.
“ In the 2023/2024, the society paid Sh 80 per Kgs when we were voted in by the votes as the new management committee after the former team was ejected over malpractice in the administration of the society,” said Chege.
