Smallholder coffee farmers in Kisii county who benefited from the Coffee Development Fund(CoDF)loans have been advised to use the funds to improve production.
Nyamonya Farmers Co-operative Society Chairman, Moses Oroko cautioned the beneficiaries against misuse noting that it would be a burden to them during repayment as a result of low yields.
Speaking in his office at Nyamonya Main F.C.S headquarters at Nyakegogi-Iyabe shopping centre on Friday, Oroko said the monies , will not only turn around the coffee sub-sector in the area, but also translate into high returns for farmers through improved crop husbandry and agronomic practices.
The loans are channeled to the farmers through Wakenya Pamoja Sacco Society
"As the society’s management board, we are concerned with the quality of the coffee that will attract high returns at the market to enable our farmers earn more from their efforts,” stated Oroko on Friday.
He clarified that the farmers guaranteed one another to facilitate the recovery of the loans from the beneficiaries who are coffee growers, and members of the co-operative society that approved them for the loans.
"The loans were given based on the farmers' average coffee kilos weighed in the last three years crop seasons and the minimum loan amount approved was between Sh1,000 and Sh20,000 to facilitate farmers in crop husbandry," he said.