The government of Kenya has launched the National Coffee Farm Inputs Stimulus Package E-subsidy Programme to ease the pressure of accessing farm inputs by coffee farmers.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya performed the launch ceremony and said both the smallholder coffee farmers in cooperatives and small estate coffee farmers are eligible to join the programme.
The programme brings in smart cards that will facilitate better, faster and reliable pay for farmers. The cards will also be used to buy fertilizers or pesticides from accredited suppliers. It targets 82,650 farmers in the 32 coffee growing counties.
The programme is being implemented by the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU). This will see coffee farmers accessing a wide range of inputs of their choice which will be available at a lower cost.
Smart card
The CS noted that the programme allows coffee farmers to take loans and repay with a low interest of three per cent which can be accessed by the majority of the farmers. He urged the farmers to register during the event into the scheme so that their cards can be processed for use as soon as possible.
The Smart card which has been nonexistent in the traditional way of farming will ensure better pay for farmers and a quick and timely payment process to avoid payment delays. Munya expressed that the cost of major inputs necessary in coffee production will be available to the farmers at a reduced cost, adding that this is aimed at boosting agriculture, increasing wages and lowering production rates.
The subsidies will also help keep farm inputs prices low especially fertilizers and chemicals as well as controlling inflation. The agriculture CS revealed that the programme will benefit Tharaka Nithi farmers by increasing coffee prices to not less than 100 per kilogramme. The stimulus programme will ensure farmers seeking to purchase fertilizers will get 40 per cent aid from the government with them paying only 60%.
“Tharaka Nithi farmers have been lagging behind with their plant productivity leading to poor payments and counting of losses instead of benefits. This programme will help to clear all those problems and increase the production per tree from 1.5 Kilogrammes. The government has come to your help. Let’s take for example fertilizer that is sold for Sh.1000, the farmer will pay only Sh.600. The remaining Sh 400 will be catered for by the government,” he said.
