Kenya is to write off about six billion shillings (about R481-million) owed by coffee farmers, whose sector has suffered as a result of the depressed world coffee market, the president’s office said on Sunday.
”The government has taken action to spur the crops of the coffee industry in anticipation of increased prices on the world market,” a statement quoted President Mwai Kibaki as telling farmers in eastern Kenyan over the weekend.
”We shall waive the debt” amounting to six billion shillings, Kibaki added.
Coffee production in Kenya has steadily slumped from about 127 000 tons produced in the mid-1980s to about 49 000 tons that was produced last year, owing mainly to the low prices in the world market.
Up to 1986 coffee was Kenya’s leading foreign currency earner, contributing more than 25% of government revenue.
The coffee market has since been relegated to fourth position, behind tea, horticulture and tourism, according to the state-run Coffee Board of Kenya. — Sapa-AFP