Kenya Planters Cooperative Union Distributes Subsidized Coffee Inputs worth Sh 800,000
The New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) has launched the first distribution of subsidized coffee inputs supplied to farmers in Trans Nzoia County worth Sh 800,000 to 41 coffee farmers from the KAMISSA coffee farmers cooperative in Kiminini sub-county.
Speaking during the launch at Kiminini Primary school, Trans Nzoia CEC member for Agriculture Mary Nzomo said the program is aimed at improving the quality and quantities of coffee produced in the county and it is going a long way in reducing the burden of coffee production hence increasing income for the farmers.
“I urge all coffee farmers in the county to reach out and grab this
opportunity by only paying 60% of the cost of inputs while 40% is
catered for by the government,” CEC Nzomo said.
She added that the county government department of Agriculture and Cooperative Development will continue to offer support to our coffee farmers through training and provision of subsidized seedlings.
“Some partners have already shown interest in setting up a coffee
processing plant in the county but the coffee quantities produced in the county have been discouraging. Any support to the coffee farmers in the county will see them achieve the targeted produce,” said Mrs. Nzomo.
She added that the county government under its crops diversification program is offering coffee seedling subsidies
to farmers and since 2014 this has seen an increase in coffee acreage
in the county.
Nzomo added that the Department of Agriculture has so far distributed
over 10,000 subsidy coffee seedlings at 20 shillings each to encourage
more farmers to embrace coffee farming in the county.
According to the coffee board of Kenya report, Trans nzoia coffee
farmers were able to receive 250,000,000 from the 1,500 Hectares of coffee farming in the county.
“I assure our farmers that once we achieve the desired qualities and
quantities of coffee produced, we shall have our own coffee processing factory,” Nzomo said.
On his part, Moses Wandwasi, the new KPCU representative in Trans Nzoia and Bungoma counties said they have brought KAMISSA farmers cooperative society subsidies fertilizer that the group members managed to pay 60%.
Mr. Ndwasi said the program started three months after its launch and New KPCU is in the process of registering farmers to benefit from the fertilizer subsidy government program.
“I call upon all the farmers who have not registered to come out and be registered so that they cannot be left out of the program. We will give out fertilizers like NPK 17:17:17 and CAN. We also have other agrochemicals like foliar feeds, pesticides, and herbicides that can be used in improving the quality of our coffee in the country,” he said.
We also call on all the other cooperative societies in the county to
follow suit and be registered because other groups are benefitting in a big way through the program for KAMISSA will be receiving 145 bags of subsidies fertilizer and foliar feeds.
Mr. Ndwasi said so far registered farmers across the county have been able to procure more than 2000 bags of the subsidized fertilizer that will be delivered to them.
Mr. Ndwasi added that the new KPCU targets more than 80,000 farmers through the subsided program in the country and so far in Trans Nzoia they have been able to register more than 5000 farmers.
Mr. Aillah Omoto, one of the farmers from the KAMISSA farmers
cooperative in Kiminini applauded the effort by the national
government to cushion coffee farmers from the high cost of farm
inputs.
Mr. Omoto also thanked the county government for supplying farmers in
the county with subsidized coffee seedlings and also the farmers for embracing coffee farming.
He said, last year, the cooperative sent 3400 kilograms P1 to CMS in Eldoret, citing the high cost of transport as one of the challenges
the coffee farmers are facing apart from the high cost of farm inputs before the introduction of the farm subsidies.
Alfred Muse, the treasurer of KAMISSA farmer’s Cooperative society in Kiminini, thanked the partnership between the New KPCU and the coffee farmers through the coffee value chain program.
“Many farmers are facing marketing challenges in their
coffee due to the country’s free-market policy for coffee that led to
most farmers being misled to sell that coffee produce at throwaway
prices.
For example, if a farmer sells his or her coffee parchment of
2 Kilograms of coffee through a cooperative goes at sh 800 but if a farmer decides to sell through other means the 2 Kg fetches only 200 shillings so this is a very big challenge to the coffee farmers, he
said.
The other challenge is that in Trans Nzoia County the coffee
production is very low because farmers can get up to one kilogram of coffee berries per tree which is way too low compared with coffee farmers from other parts of this country which we need to seriously look into
Post Author
