President Uhuru Kenyatta has attributed the rapid growth of the co-operative sector to the policy reforms the Government has implemented since 2013.
He noted that the reforms have helped the sector play its rightful role in achieving the Big 4 Agenda pillars of manufacturing, food security and affordable housing.
“In manufacturing, the Government has prioritized reforms for the revitalization of various sub-sectors where co-operatives are involved in areas such as agro-processing and value addition in coffee, cotton and dairy to name but a few,” he said.
Speaking when the 100th International Co-operatives Day at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, President Kenyatta cited the revival of the Kenya Planters Cooperative Union as one of the fruits of the reforms that have directly benefitted coffee farmers.
“As part of this revitalization programme, my Administration incorporated the new Kenya Planters’ Cooperative Union Ltd (New KPCU) in 2019 after liquidation of the old KPCU, which was bedeviled by a myriad of challenges.”
The New KPCU has established a Cherry Revolving Fund of Kshs 3 billion, instituted a farm inputs subsidy programme of Kshs 1 billion, and refurbished coffee drying tables. It has also provided sustainable solutions to thousands of coffee farmers through milling and marketing services. The President said the New KPCU has also provided milling and marketing services to 236 co-operative societies and 92 coffee estates.
“The benefits of the New KPCU are already noticeable; the New KPCU charges farmers USD 40 per ton of milled coffee as compared to USD 65 per ton, charged for the same services by private millers. So far, the New KPCU has milled 1,828 tons of coffee,” President Kenyatta said.
The President said the reforms also helped to stabilize the dairy sub-sector through the modernization and expansion of the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries factories across the country, leading to steady growth in the number of dairy co-operatives.
“This initiative has had a positive social-economic impact in the dairy sector through the stabilization of milk prices at farmer and consumer levels, due to efficient processing and packaging capabilities. Moreover, with its increased processing capacity, the New KCC has been enabled to take up excess milk from farmers, thereby averting losses at farm level and providing a much-needed ready market for their produce,” he said.
On rice farming, President Kenyatta said the Government-led reforms saw the Kenya National Trading Corporation’s revival that enabled the sector to increase production and ensured farmers have access to markets for their produce at competitive prices.
Other areas that benefitted from the co-operative sector reforms include the cotton industry, where the Government is implementing recommendations of a task force geared towards revitalizing old and obsolete cotton co-operative ginneries as well as building new ones.
On Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs), President Kenyatta said the implementation of the Sacco Societies (Non-Deposit Taking Sacco Business) Regulations 2020 that commenced in January 2021 have helped to double the number of SACCOs under prudential regulation of Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) to 360.
“I note with appreciation that over the period 2014 to 2021, the SACCO industry has registered remarkable growth. In terms of membership, the number has risen from 3 million in 2014 to 5.5 million in 2021.”
