Murang’a Coffee Farmers Decry Hawking and Broking Threats

Key Highlights

• Kangunu Coffee Factory farmers raise alarm over hawking and broking in Kangema, Murang’a County.
• Farmers accuse hawkers and brokers of exploiting them despite higher coffee prices.
• Cooperative Chairperson John Chege says the practices are the greatest threat to cooperative stability.
• Ministry of Cooperatives’ reforms had improved farmer earnings, but middlemen are undermining gains.
• Murang’a Woman Rep Betty Maina condemns hawking and broking, calling for tighter regulation.
• Kangema MP Peter Kihungi urges farmers to remain loyal to cooperatives for transparency and fair returns.
• Farmers warn reforms will collapse if government fails to act decisively.

Farmers allied to Kangunu Coffee Factory in Kangema, Murang’a County, have voiced concern over the rise of coffee hawking and broking, warning that the twin practices threaten to undo progress made through recent reforms in the sector.

Speaking during the installation of a milk cooler at the factory premises, the farmers said hawkers and brokers were exploiting producers by taking advantage of high coffee prices to bypass cooperatives and weaken their bargaining power.

Kangunu Factory Chairperson, John Chege, described the illegal trade as the biggest challenge facing the cooperative today.

“While the milk cooler will support our members who also keep dairy cattle, the greatest enemy we face is hawking and broking. Hawkers destabilize our cooperative by buying cherry directly from farmers, while brokers exploit us through unfair commissions at the auction,” Chege said.

He noted that following last year’s restructuring of cooperative societies by the Ministry of Cooperatives, farmers had begun earning better returns.

However, the improved earnings have attracted hawkers offering quick cash and brokers who continue to take cuts at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange—threatening the survival of cooperative societies.

Murang’a Woman Representative, Betty Maina, strongly condemned the two practices, describing them as forms of exploitation that strip farmers of their rightful income.

She urged regulators and government agencies to enforce strict measures to curb the vices and emphasized the need for direct markets that eliminate middlemen.

Kangema MP, Peter Kihungi, echoed the concerns, warning that hawking and broking undermine the government’s broader coffee revival agenda.

He encouraged farmers to remain loyal to their cooperatives, where payments are transparent, and called on authorities to take firm action against the malpractices.

The farmers commended ongoing coffee sector reforms but cautioned that without decisive government intervention, hawking and broking could cripple cooperative societies and trap producers in cycles of exploitation.