The recently approved Crop (Coffee) ( General) regulations 2019 that had been put in place to try and save the sector, have been rejected by several cooperative societies as they refer to the regulations as unhelpful.
The farmers are demanding that the regulations be withdrawn and allow room for negotiations. Failure to comply will see the farmers move to court and block the implementation of the regulations.
The coffee farmers complained that abiding by the regulations was too costly because they came at a time when the returns from coffee are at an all-time low.
They also said that they were not consulted as per the constitutional requirements of public participation.
The cabinet secretary only consulted the Agriculture and Food Authority and the county governments. They also stated that the regulations do not address production challenges.
The regulations which were published on 1st July 2019, arose from the Coffee Sector Task Force that was created by President Uhuru Kenyatta which after presenting their report, the task force was converted into an implementation team.
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