Coffee Bill sensitisation commence despite rift

Parliament has kicked off a public participation process on the Coffee Bill 2021 despite a standoff between the Ministry of Agriculture and Capital Markets Authority (CMA) over implementation of new reforms.

The National Assembly’s departmental committee on agriculture and livestock will visit Mt. Kenya region, the Rift valley and Western Kenya to seek public views in the first week of September.

During the tour, the committee will receive views from stakeholders and farmers representatives, local leaders and officials of the national Government based in the counties.

The committee’s media liaison office said the team will be led by its chairman who is also Moiben MP Silas Tiren.

The exercise will be conducted in two phases with the first one kicking off today despite the Senate having approved a similar Bill.

Coffee agenda

Senate’s Agriculture committee last week lashed out at Agriculture  Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya accusing him of frustrating the coffee reform agenda.

Senate agriculture committee chair Njeru Ndwiga said Munya drafted and submitted to the National Assembly Coffee Bill 2021 while aware of another Coffee Bill 2020 by the Senate.

“Everybody wants a new coffee marketing regime. But why is the minister opposed to the move and is instead working with forces in the industry who do not want change,?” Ndwiga asked. 

The two bills are similar in some areas, for example, reconstitution of Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) and Coffee Research Institute (CRI) among other enhancing general coffee Governance systems.

However, the draft law differs on certain areas, for instance on issuance of licences by the counties and the national government and reorganisation of marketing.