A Gatundu coffee farmers’ special general meeting ended in disarray on Wednesday after farmers learnt they would get less than they expected for their coffee sold under the pool marketing system.
The Kanyoni Farmers Co-operative Society meeting turned into a shouting match when Chairman Mr Kiregi Maina told the farmers they would take home Sh41 per kilogram and not the Sh67 they said the Governor William Kabogo had announced.
The chairman had a hard time trying to explain that the farmers still had an obligation to pay for factory overheads, marketing charges and Sh10 per kilogram as crop advance as usual and hence they could not expect to take home the gross payout of Sh67 per kilogram.
The farmers could, however, hear none of it after they realised that some of them who had taken chemicals and fertilisers from the society on credit were likely to walk home empty handed.
The 800 farmers who earned Sh37 for their crop last season collectively earned Sh30 million for their 431,039 kilograms of cherry in 2014.
From the Sh30 million, their society had to repay a Sh799,000 factory contribution, Sh2.9 million marketing agency fees and offset a Sh1.3 million loan to their factory.
The chairman explained that they were also to reserve a fund to run the factory until the next crop, leaving Sh22.2 million as their take home payout.
The farmers said they would not take the money and demanded that Governor Kabogo goes to address them to explain the discrepancy between his stated figure and what was offered.
They vowed to withdraw from the pool marketing system the Governor had spearheaded saying they were better off operating individually.
Controversy has hit the new system with detractors accusing the governor of taking the farmers for a ride.