Farmers from Nyamonya Famers Co-operative Society, Bobasi Chache Ward in Sameta sub-county are a happy lot following good payments from the mbuni coffee produce which they have been waiting for long since last year.
Mocha Daudi, one of the growers said it was a sigh of relief to the farmers as they had already lost hope on the fate of their produce which had taken long to be sold in the coffee market.
Speaking to HiviSasa.com at Nyamonya FC Society headquarters during the payments, Mocha expressed confidence in the current management for paying farmers for their coffee produce at the right time when they needed the money for pressing issues like school fees and farm inputs.
Describing the Sh69.75 as the best rate ever paid to Nyamonya farmers for mbuni deliveries, Mocha challenged farmers to be tolerant with the board of management and closely consult with the leadership of the society instead of being misled through speculations and rumours over the fate of their coffee.
"As farmers, we are happy that finally the long awaited mbuni payments are here, since majority of the farmers had lost hope that the produce will never be paid for after taking too long in the market,” stated Mocha
Annah Mong'ina, another farmer from the co-operative society praised the payment rates as she encouraging fellow farmers to consider delivering their coffee to the co-operative society instead of hawking their produce to coffee merchants who exploit them.
Mong'ina said delivering coffee produce to the co-operative society had numerous benefits to the farmers in terms of quality control and grading which increase chances of better payments for the farmers' produce as compared to middlemen who exploit unsuspecting farmers.
The Co-operative Society's Board Chairman Moses Onchabo disclosed that Nyamonya main paid its members Sh69.75 per kilogramme of mbuni, Motonto, an affiliate of Nyamonya FCS, paid Sh68 per kilo and Nyagancha paid its members Sh54 per kilo.
Onchabo encouraged farmers to embrace innovative agronomic practices to enhance coffee production and quality for them to attract consumers in the coffee market adding that quality coffee translates to good grades which earn farmers high proceeds.