Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka now wants coffee from Bungoma milled, packaged and sold directly to the international market by cooperative societies.
Speaking during an engagement forum with coffee farmers in Chesikaki, Lusaka said despite the local farmers toiling hard, they earned peanuts while the bigger shares of the proceeds go to coffee cartels.
Governor committed to achieving licensing of the Mt. Elgon coffee marketing agency that has already been registered and regulated by the capital market authority.
He promised to ensure the agency is admitted to Nairobi coffee Exchange.
Currently, Chesikaki coffee factory only mills and forwards their coffee to commercial marketers who sell on behalf of the farmers.
Lusaka at the same time warned the society officials against corruption saying the vice had killed many of such organizations in the past.
The society CEO Philip Ndiema blamed coffee cartels at the auction for being against them getting the licenses.
“We are calling on our leaders to step in and save us from the cartels who are fighting our licensing to sale our coffee directly,” said Ndiema
