Hundreds of coffee farmers from Kisii County have called upon the county leadership to invest in the sector, which is believed to be the leading cash crop in the region.
Speaking at Gesieka region in Marani Sub County on Tuesday, the residents predicted falling of the sector if the county leadership fails to intervene in time to salvage the situation.
According to them, the Coffee Board of Kenya has failed to improve the market prizes of the crop, forcing many farmers to opt for other businesses.
“As coffee farmers, we want to call upon the county government to take control of coffee farming because our client, CBK is not committed to ensure we succeed as farmers. If the situation isn’t salvaged, I am seeing a looming crisis,” said Francis Nyatangi.
They said time had come for the James Ongwae-led government to take coffee farming seriously, for the sake of development in the county.
“If we want to attain viable development in the region, time has come for the county to act. The global prizes on the crop have substantially gone down and we want the county to take the opportunity and look for the steady partners in the world,” added Zachary Ombati.
This comes after area MP Hon. Richard Onyonka recently called upon the county government to take charge of coffee farming from CBK.