Coffee farmers in Kirinyaga raise alarm over rising theft of ripe cherries

The suspected thieves are reportedly harvesting ripe cherries at night, with residents suspecting that they are being backed by coffee cartels.

The most affected areas are Kirinyaga Central Constituency and Gichugu, where coffee cherries are stolen at night or when farmers are away from their farms.

In Kiamuruga Village, Ndimi Location, Kirinyaga Central, several farmers are counting losses after unknown people harvested their coffee cherries last week.

According to Joyce Kiragu, one of the affected farmers, over 500 coffee stems bearing cherries were stripped. “I went to the farm with my grandson to harvest, but I was shocked to find that all the cherries had been harvested the previous night. I have incurred a huge financial loss,” Mrs. Kiragu said.

Residents of Kirinyaga Central are now urging security agencies to intensify patrols and crack down on coffee brokers suspected of selling the stolen produce to private millers who buy cherries in cash.