Coffee farmers in Murang’a have opposed government’s plan to roll out a Direct Settlement System (DSS), warning that bypassing cooperatives in favour of direct mobile payments could unravel years of hard-won progress in the sector.
While welcoming broader reforms aimed at reviving the coffee industry, growers in Kigumo sub-county say the DSS — which proposes to pay farmers directly via mobile money — risks sidelining the cooperative movement that has long sustained Kenya’s smallholder coffee economy.
Access to loans
At a recent meeting at the Marumi Coffee Cooperative Society, farmers expressed concern that the shift could destabilise support systems that have helped improve quality, access to inputs, and pooled services such as extension support and affordable credit.
“We are not against reforms,” said Peter Mwangi, a long-time coffee farmer. “But paying everyone individually through mobile phones means every farmer is left to fend for themselves. That breaks the backbone of what has kept this sector alive.”
Marumi Cooperative was the highest-paying society in Murang’a last season, fetching Sh92 per kilogram of cherry. Mwangi attributes this to the group’s investment in farmer education, collective training, and access to quality farm inputs — all of which, he warns, are at risk under the new model.
“If the money comes straight to my Mpesa account, it will go to school fees, medical bills or other emergencies,” he said. “That makes it harder to reinvest in the farm, and the quality of our coffee will definitely suffer.”
Accountability
Under the DSS, the state seeks to eliminate middlemen and increase transparency by remitting payments directly to individual farmers. But critics say it ignores the cooperative system’s role in offering structure, accountability and economies of scale in an otherwise fragile sector.
Mary Njeri, an elderly farmer in the same cooperative, fears the change will expose older farmers to exploitation.
“How do I verify that I’ve received the correct amount? And who will I ask if it’s wrong?” she asked. “This opens the door for fraudsters to take advantage of people like me.”
Others, like James Murage, warn the system could roll back the clock on gains made in the past decade.
“We educated our children through these cooperatives,” he said. “They’ve helped us access fertilisers, process our harvest, and stay united. Doing away with that is like throwing away our heritage.”
Some fear the DSS could splinter the collective voice of farmers, reducing their bargaining power and making it harder to demand accountability from millers, marketers, and buyers.
Hybrid model
While the government insists the new model will increase efficiency and curb exploitation, farmers are calling for a more nuanced approach.
“Let’s adopt a hybrid model,” suggested Mwangi. “Let payments be transparent, yes, but let cooperatives continue to manage disbursements and support services. We need both innovation and tradition.”
The debate comes as Kenya’s coffee sector continues its slow recovery from decades of neglect, marked by falling prices, low productivity, and mismanagement. With the country eyeing a resurgence in coffee exports, the challenge now is to balance reform with the lived realities of the small-scale farmers who form its foundation.
