Co-operatives and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Cabinet Secretary (CS), Wycliffe Oparanya, has blamed governance issues within coffee cooperative societies for the decline of coffee production in the country.
Kenya was one of the leading global coffee producers in the 90s, with the highest production recorded in 1990 at 130,000 metric tons, but has declined over the years to the current average of 50,000, translating into a decline of about 60 per cent, according to the New KPCU.
CS Oparanya said weak management systems in coffee co-operatives and mismanagement have been the systematic barriers hindering the growth of the coffee sector, thus causing low production volumes over the years.
Speaking in Embu Town on Wednesday, while launching Coffee Revitalization Program Steering Committees for Embu, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, and Kirinyaga Counties, CS Oparanya said the government had taken aggressive regulatory and structural reforms under the National Coffee Revival Programme to reverse the trend.
He said that through the Co-operatives Bill currently before the National Assembly and the Sacco’s Societies Act Amendment Bill 2008, the government aims at dismantling management issues, eliminating cartels, and tripling production to 150,000 metric tons by 2029.
Oparanya said through the Co-operatives Bill that is at the mediation stage, having passed both the National Assembly and the Senate, the government seeks to establish a robust legal framework to institutionalize transparency and financial accountability in the governance of cooperatives.
“We are aware that governance issues are what made coffee production in this country suffer, and that is the structural collapse that we are seeking to reverse through this bill,” he said.
He said by weaponizing this bill, the government was essentially shifting power back to the farmer by breaking the monopoly on leadership that led to farmers watching their earnings disappear into the pockets of corrupt leaders.
Other key provisions of the bill include the establishment of rigid term limits for directors, strict debt and borrowing thresholds, and lowering production costs as well as the alignment of responsibilities between counties and the national government.
“We want to establish proper structures for the cooperatives’ movement within the coffee sector from primary cooperatives to secondary, the federation, and the apex to take the farmers’ interests properly,” he said.
Through the Sacco’s Societies Act Amendment Bill 2008, CS Oparanya said the government is seeking to look into the issues of funding by modernizing how funds are pooled, shared, and protected across the cooperative movement.
Through this legal framework, the CS noted that wealthier Saccos will be allowed to lend funds to struggling ones to retain the money within the Sacco ecosystem and reduce interest overheads.
Meanwhile, the CS noted that the establishment of Coffee Revitalization Program Steering Committees across all coffee-growing counties will help institutionalize the coffee revival agenda.
By Samuel Waititu
