Coffee and milk farmers across Kiambu county are protesting the fluctuating prices of the products after end results when they are finally paid.
The Farmers speaking at various places in turitu and Kanunga noted the cost of farming had now gone up and most of them were struggling to do the balancing act of maintaining their farms and reaping from what they had toiled hard to achieve.
Speaking from his farm at Turitu, John Njau a coffee Farmer said despite the Government advancing their payments to over 100Kshs per Kilo, the workforce and cost implications were high ending up going back to their pockets to ensure that things run smoothly.
He added that the fluctuation of prices especially at the factory level was not doing good to them since expectations were high yet when things turn around they ended disappointed ” How can a cup of Kenyan coffee be sold at Kshs700 in big hotels while the producer of the coffee who is the farmer is only getting Kshs 100 per Kilo?, this is not fair at all” Mr Njau posed.
Speaking over the same milk farmers who deliver their milk at the Kiambaa dairy factory expressed their dissatisfaction over the sudden drop of milk from Kshs 48 to 44 saying it was disheartening for the farmers.
They said considering the cost of doing business most of them had been running at a loss also putting into consideration the high cost of medications being administered to their animals once they need a veterinary.
