Oparanya has declared an all-out war on cartels and brokers standing in the way of Kenya’s coffee reforms.
The Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Development says the government will not allow farmers to continue suffering under the grip of exploitative middlemen who have dominated the coffee sector for decades.
In a statement shared on his social media pages on Wednesday, Oparanya said the government is in the final stages of rolling out the Coffee Revitalisation Programme, a plan meant to restore the industry’s profitability and ensure farmers benefit directly from their sweat.
“Earlier today, I chaired a consultative meeting with key stakeholders from across the coffee value chain, where I reiterated that farmers must remain at the centre of the Coffee Revitalisation Programme and be the primary beneficiaries of the ongoing reforms,” Oparanya said.
He added that the government’s goal is to create a coffee sector that can sustain itself and operate transparently without manipulation by brokers.
“I emphasised that our shared goal is to build a self-sustaining and progressively self-regulating coffee sector, with the Government providing an enabling environment to enhance productivity, profitability, and fairness,” he stated.
The meeting brought together farmers, cooperatives, and industry regulators to address long-standing issues that have kept coffee growers struggling with delayed payments, hidden charges, and high deductions that reduce profits.
Oparanya said discussions centred on streamlining the Direct Settlement System (DSS) to ensure transparent and timely payments to farmers through the Cooperative Bank.
He explained that the ministry is also reviewing the fees charged by DSS facilitators to stop unnecessary deductions that eat into farmers’ earnings.
“The meeting discussed the operationalisation of the Direct Settlement System (DSS) to ensure transparent and timely payments to farmers through the Cooperative Bank; the review of fees charged to DSS facilitators to protect farmers from unnecessary deductions; alignment of Capital Markets Authority (CMA) regulations with current sector reforms; strengthening of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) into a fully-fledged corporate entity and competitive market player; and greater inclusion of youth and women in the coffee value chain,” Oparanya said.
He revealed that all stakeholders will submit a reviewed memorandum highlighting priority areas for government support.
“As a way forward, stakeholders will submit a reviewed memorandum outlining priority areas for government support and participate in the upcoming capacity-building programme to fast-track the reform agenda,” he added.
Oparanya’s tough stance comes at a time when the government is tightening its grip on coffee reforms, determined to dismantle cartels that have long dictated how the multi-billion-shilling sector operates.
The government is also preparing to launch a digital coffee trading platform that will connect farmers directly to international buyers. The system aims to eliminate brokers, ensure real-time payments, and guarantee that at least 80 per cent of proceeds go directly to farmers’ accounts through the Cooperative Bank.
For years, Kenya’s coffee farmers have endured low prices and delayed payments despite producing some of the world’s finest coffee.
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