President Kenyatta forms task force to probe cartels in Coffee sector

President Uhuru Kenyatta has formed a task force to investigate the troubles facing farmers in the coffee sector and advise on how best to eliminate cartels in the sector.

In a Gazette Notice Friday, the 19-member task force will be chaired by Prof. Joseph Kieyah and assisted by Agriculture Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe.

The President gave the task force until March 24th to compile a report in line with its terms of reference.

The team is required to conduct consultations with coffee stakeholders in the country and undertake literature review to learn best practices that can benefit the local coffee industry whose farmers have complained of losing hundreds of millions to middle-men and other cartels exporting the commodity.

The announcement that the committee would be set up came after a section of coffee farmers in Ndumberi and Githunguri in Kiambu County urged President Kenyatta to intervene and help deal with the cartels.

On Saturday, the farmers said that poor coffee prices and mismanagement at the Kenya Coffee Planters Union (KCPU) has seen them abandon the once lucrative sector.