Wednesday, May 22, 2024 – President William Ruto has moved to endear himself to the restive Mt. Kenya voting bloc amid rumours of a fallout with his Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.
This is after he announced that
his government would forgive all the multi-billion debt owed by coffee farmers
most of whom come from Mt. Kenya.
Ruto unveiled plans to write off
Ksh6 billion in debt held by coffee farmers, aiming to rejuvenate the
struggling sector and boost the livelihoods of over 600,000 farmers.
"In the next Cabinet
meeting, we will approve a write-off of Ksh6 billion to our farmers, so that we
can reduce debts on coffee farming," Ruto told Kenyans living in the
United States of America.
This announcement is part of the
ongoing coffee reforms intended to expand cultivation acreage and enhance
farmer revenues.
Coffee, Kenya’s third largest agricultural export, has faced significant challenges despite employing a substantial portion of the population, with 75 percent of farmers being smallholders.
The sector has struggled with low production and financial
instability, prompting the government to take decisive action.
The debt relief plan, initially
proposed in January by Co-operatives and Micro and Small Enterprise Cabinet
Secretary Simon Chelugui, gained momentum with Gachagua’s discussions with
coffee sector stakeholders.
Chelugui indicated that the
government might consider waiving additional phases of debts owed by coffee
farmers.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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