Nairobi: A Murang’a cooperative society aims to boost coffee production to over 1.8 million kilos per harvest season. The new management of Kangunu Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Mathioya Sub County has embarked to educate farmers on best farming practices which will see increased production and high quality coffee.
According to Kenya News Agency, the new officials who took office in December have promised to help farmers increase their earnings by bringing experts to educate and train farmers on how to increase their production. During an education day, society chairman John Chege stated that the cooperative currently produces approximately 680,000 kilos per season. The production, he noted, is small compared with many farmers allied to the giant cooperative society. The society can produce 2 million kilos per harvest season, but previous management’s mismanagement led to a decrease in production.
‘As we strive to increase production, our farmers are also being educated on how to produce quality beans which fetch better returns at the auction,’ noted Chege. He urged the government to assist the cooperatives in accessing subsidized fertilizer that will boost coffee production. ‘Coffee farmers rarely get subsidized fertilizer. With the ongoing reforms in the coffee sub-sector, we ask the government to consider availing cheap fertilizer which will help improve our production,’ he added.
Meanwhile, Chege observed it was the first time in more than 10 years for the farmers to converge for a profitable program, following physical fights that were witnessed in the society. The government, through the Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, intervened towards the end of last year and disbanded the management committee following mismanagement of resources and deduction of farmers’ proceeds without the authority of the coffee farmers.
‘We inherited huge debts that we want to be audited and those who misappropriated the monies of the society be held responsible,’ stated the chairman. George Mwangi and Samuel Njoroge from Alliance Berries Limited, who trained farmers, said it was high time for farmers to embrace new technologies to improve production and ensure their coffee is of high quality. Mwangi said Kangunu is among the best cooperatives in the production of quality coffee, urging the farmers to strive to increase production that will lead to more earnings.
‘At the auction, buyers are interested in high-quality coffee. The premier grades usually fetch high prices and this ensures farmers’ earnings are lucrative,’ he added. One of the farmers, Peter Mwangi, said it was the first time in history for the society to hold an education forum after decades of fights. In the past, Mwangi explained how the meetings turned chaotic after the management committee failed to allow the farmers to ask questions. ‘The growers have learned a lot from the experts and soon we shall achieve the production target,’ said Mwangi.