Cabinet approves Ksh.6.8 billion debt waiver for coffee farmers

President William Ruto on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Cabinet at State House, Nairobi.

At the meeting, the Cabinet considered and approved the debt waiver for coffee farmers and other coffee sector reforms.

Under this programme, the meeting sanctioned the write-off of historical debts amounting to Ksh.6.8 billion owed by coffee farmers nationwide.

To facilitate the settlement of the debts accrued by farmers, coffee co-operatives, Saccos and other creditors are required to submit to the Ministry for Co-operatives, within seven days, the list of all farmers who owe them money and with all the supporting documents for verification and processing of payment.

Any fraudulent and fictitious claims, the Cabinet warned, will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The Cabinet called on Parliament to fast-track the enactment of governance reforms for co-operatives to establish institutional safeguards, including the requirement that the process of borrowing by cooperatives is only authorised by farmers during annual General meetings.

To further bolster the coffee production value chain, the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) will undergo modernisation in accordance with international best practices.

Additionally, to address the concerns on the quality of coffee parchments, modern eco-pulpers will be established in all emerging coffee growing areas for primary processing, enhancing efficiency and sustainability of the sub-sector.

These interventions, which will further encompass improved coffee seedlings propagation under the Coffee Research Institute (CRI), are aimed at enhancing the production of coffee to the 200,000 metric tonnes target by 2027.

This will also reposition Kenya's coffee on the global stage and enhance competitiveness and contribution to the national development agenda because the crop is one of the nation’s premier exports.