Kirinyaga farmers oppose Ruto’s 5-day coffee payment directive
By Richard Mugo, June 23, 2026President William Ruto’s directive that coffee farmers should receive payment within five days of delivering their produce to factories has been met with opposition from growers across the country, who argue the proposal would significantly reduce their earnings.
Speaking during a public address in Kirinyaga County on Monday, June 22, 2026, President Ruto lamented the prolonged waiting periods that farmers currently endure before being compensated for their harvest and announced his administration’s plan to overhaul the payment timeline.
“Unapeleka kahawa yako, hujui utalipwa lini. Unangoja miezi tatu, miezi nne miezi sita… tumekubaliana mkulima akifikisha kahawa yake, baada ya siku tano pesa iwe kwa mfuko yake,” the President told coffe farmers at General Kassam Stadium in Kianyaga.
Backlash
The directive, framed as a pro-farmer measure aimed at alleviating financial hardship caused by lengthy payment delays, has instead triggered a backlash from the very farming communities it was intended to benefit.
Coffee farmers across Kirinyaga County have unequivocally rejected the President’s proposal, arguing that the existing cumulative payment system, where a farmer receives a total payment after all their coffee has been processed and sold at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, delivers better financial returns.
“If this goes through, we will be receiving meagre payments. How will we repay the loans or even educate our children? We want to stick with the current payment method where our societies pay us after the end of every coffee season,” Peter Njogu, a coffee farmer from Gichugu, said.
He added that they are glad the government has taken into consideration the waiving of coffee farmers’ debts, but they are not supporting the president’s directive on the five-day payment plan.
His sentiments were echoed by fellow grower Simon Nyaga, who called for the retention of the traditional model, noting that it has played a crucial role in improving the farmers’ welfare all along.
“We want to harvest our coffee and take it to our factories and receive that season’s payment all together. How much money will I make if I harvest 50 kilograms in a day? I don’t want to take my coffee to the factory and then get paid after five days,” Nyaga said.
The latest directive has reignited memories of an earlier dispute over the government’s Direct Settlement System (DSS), a payment model that farmers previously rushed to court to block.
Under the DSS, farmers were to receive payments via mobile money transfer every five days, a structure almost identical to what President Ruto has now announced.
Kirinyaga farmers successfully challenged the DSS at the Kerugoya Law Court, which issued an order suspending its application and directed the government to further engage farmers on the same before proceeding.
“The government had said that we would be receiving our money via mobile money transfer after every five days but we as farmers from Kirinyaga, went to Kerugoya Law Court to challenge the bill and an order was issued. Now we are wondering, if the court stopped it, how has it made a comeback? We want the current system of payment to remain; we get paid after all the coffee has been sold,” Njoroge Mtetezi, another farmer from Kirinyaga, said.
Cost of agricultural chemicals
Beyond the payment dispute, farmers took the opportunity to raise additional concerns about the high cost of agricultural chemicals used in coffee production.
Many growers say they are spending a disproportionate share of their income on farm inputs, squeezing already thin margins.
They have also called on the government to investigate the quality of chemicals sold in agro-vet shops, alleging that some products fail to meet required standards and leave farmers counting losses.
“These farming chemicals are very expensive, and they are forcing farmers to dig deeper into their pockets to buy while some of them are of low quality. There is no effect even after spraying your coffee bushes,” Simon Nyaga said.