Corrupt coffee society leaders to lose properties, CS Wycliffe Oparanya warns

Kenya’s coffee sector is facing a firm government crackdown as officials move to dismantle corruption networks in cooperative societies and revive production, which has plummeted in recent decades.

Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya said the government will no longer tolerate mismanagement of farmers’ funds, revealing that coffee cooperative societies have accumulated debts amounting to Sh6 billion.

CS Oparanya said the government will begin auctioning properties of cooperative leaders found guilty of embezzling funds instead of continuing to waive debts caused by dishonest officials.

“We can’t write off all debts now and then and keep moving forward. The government is ready to auction properties of directors who steal farmers’ money,” he said.

He said farmers are the ones who continue to suffer as deductions are made on their earnings while corrupt officials benefit, weakening efforts to revive the once-thriving sector.

The CS added that some of the requested debt waivers have little to do with supporting farmers but instead serve to shield individuals who pocket the funds.

The last time the government issued a debt waiver for coffee farmers was in 2011 when it disbursed Sh1 billion to rejuvenate the sector.

Oparanya said that relying on such waivers is not sustainable and that decisive action must be taken against individuals who continue to misuse cooperative resources.

To address leadership and governance challenges, the CS pointed to the Cooperatives Bill currently before the National Assembly.

He said the Bill proposes critical reforms, including introducing term limits for elected leaders of cooperatives to curb prolonged mismanagement and entrench accountability.

“Farmers will get many benefits once the reforms led by the President take full effect and the Bill is implemented to the letter,” he said. He noted that the reforms are aimed at shielding farmers from brokers and cartels who exploit their hard work.

The CS also announced that the government has allocated Sh500 million to procure five million coffee seedlings this year alone, as part of a larger plan to boost coffee production both in quality and volume.

He said the seedlings will be distributed through cooperative societies to tackle a national shortage that has led to increased imports from neighbouring countries.

“There are only three million seedlings currently being produced in the whole country, hence the importations,” Oparanya explained. He added that the seedlings are specifically developed to suit different climatic zones across coffee-growing regions in the country.

Kenya, once a global giant in coffee production, has seen output fall drastically, from over 200,000 tonnes in the 1980s to about 50,000 tonnes today.

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• CS Wycliffe Oparanya warns

Oparanya said such a steep decline must be reversed, and that better governance, reforms and proper inputs will help the country regain its place among top producers.

“Farmers produced more than 200,000 tonnes in the 80s compared to today’s production of about 50,000 tonnes. We need to increase our production,” he said.

Tigania West MP John Mutunga backed the CS’s position and called for the introduction of guaranteed minimum returns to help improve farmers’ income.

He also urged the timely delivery of subsidised fertiliser to factories, saying this would ease the cost of production and motivate more farmers to return to coffee farming.