Murang’a,
Wednesday, 20 March, 2024,
McCreadie Andias
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has today commissioned the Murang’a Coffee Mills factory in Maragua, Murang’a County.
The factory, which has 1.2MT per hour processing capacity is key to the over 110,0000 farmers from 51 coffee cooperatives societies in Murang’a County and the surrounding regions.
Gachagua noted that the Kenya Kwanza Administration is focused on improving the lives of coffee farmers through Coffee Subsector Reforms
“The new factory will process and add value to our coffee. This will fetch more and actualise our vision of putting more money into the pocket of the farmer. We have made great strides in the reforms. We are succeeding because we must deliver our promise to the farmer, who is the Boss.”The DP said.
With a possible expansion of processing capacity to 4MT per hour, The factory will serve as a strategic investment and a key plug to put more money into the pocket of the farmers.
The Deputy President who has been tasked by the president to lead tea and coffee Sub-sector reforms, emphasised on the importance of value addition to coffee as central to earning the farmer more money. Value addition was one of the outcomes of the Meru Coffee Conference held last year, in which farmers asked the Government to support upgrading of the factories.
The Government has initiated avenues of reviving the Coffee Subsector through a raised export portfolio of the cash-crops including Coffee, Tea, Dairy, among others.
The Deputy President has recently led high-level delegations and engagements to Germany and Belgium aimed at expanding the export market of Kenyan Coffee and other Agroproduce.His engagements with Colombia, one of the leading importers and exporters of coffee to high-value markets globally.
The Deputy President, with the support of the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives Simon Chelugui, Parliament and other actors, is also leading reforms of the Cooperatives Movement as a sustainable way of financially and technically supporting farmers in producing quality and quantity.
The event was also attended by The Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui, Murang’a Governor Dr Irungu Kang’ata, Deputy Gvernor Mburu Munaini and Maragua MP Mary Wamaua.