National Coffee Cooperative Union (NACC) and Kiambu County Government are in a collusion path following licensing of Sasini and Kofinaf coffee mills.
Bitter union leadership perceived to be backed by 800,000 small scale coffee farmers accuse the Kiambu Government for going against the spirit of the coffee reforms, with claims the two are associated with licensed coffee buyers.
Others licensed by Kiambu Government but not questioned by the Union are Komothai and Aberdare Limited. NACC CEO Mr Festus Bett seeks investigations into how the private coffee millers obtained the licenses, calling on Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) to revoke the licenses.
Bett points an accusing finger at the county government over licensing of the two commercial millers alleging the move is direct contravention of the Crops Coffee General Regulations 2019.
The unions’ claims that the two firms Sasini Mill is affiliated to Sasini (K) LTD, and Kofinaf Company Limited mill are affiliated to Coffee Management Services (CMS) and C.Dorman Limited which are buyers at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE).
But the small scale traders accuse the NACC for playing politics yet the majority of their unions lack capacity.
John Kiambi from Embu says the unions fear being locked out of the market by the two coffee milling giants as their mills lack the required out turns.
Kiambi told off the union saying it has failed to question the licensing of Komothai and Aberdare since they were not a threat. ” Let them not deceive Kenyans, as farmers lobbied for licensing for more millers, following the challenges experienced in the past one year,” said Kiambi.
Kenya Coffee Producer Association chairman Peter Gikonyo defends the licensing of the mills saying the Kiambu Government listened to the cry of the farmers.
Gikonyo said the move to license the four coffee mills in Kiambu followed the passionate demand by farmers and the unions should instead focus on service delivery.
“The millers stores are full of unmilled coffee, it is the high time we mobilised our resources to support our farmers to take their produce to the market,” said Gikonyo.
Gatagua Farmers Cooperative Society Chairman Mr Harrison Chege says the union millers will face strong competition and local farmers are interested with performance not affiliation.
“It is practical that the cooperative movement led mills and brokerage firms will face competition. The four were supposed to be licensed in December last year to save the farmers a lot of milling challenges,” said Chege.
Kiambu’s Head of Public Service Mr Peter Ndegwa and Crops and Production Officer Mr Benson Njoroge handed over the milling licenses to the representatives of the four milling agents.
The millers, Komothai Coffee Society, Aberdare Limited, Coffee Kofinaf and Sasini.were directed to operate within the set regulations, with warning that those who will float them will face dire consequences.
Mr. Njoroge, the crops officer, said that coffee farmers across the county will be well served by the licensed millers. “The locations of the mills are evenly distributed in the coffee-growing areas and required to work within the rules of the permits by complying with the laid-down regulations,”said the chief officer.
The licensing of the four millers followed the intense pressure exerted on Governor Kimani Wamatangi by the Kenya Coffee Producers Association affiliates in Kiambu after the members decried transporting their coffee to the licensed millers in Nairobi and Thika.
A month ago, Ms Jackie Ogeto from Kisii decried how she incurred expenses in relocating her 500 bags of coffee from Sasini Mills in Kiambu to a Nairobi based facility after the government declined to issue the facility with a license.
“As coffee farmers were delighted that we have four more coffee millers that would enable us to make the rightful choice that can be made,” said Ogeto.