My comment on the coffee story: When you say that “Coffee farmers are the last class of economic slaves in Kenya,’ you cannot be farther from the truth. French bean growers spend an average of Shs 50 to grow a kg of green beans, but prices of French beans fluctuate between Shs 15 and 120 per kg over the year. Tea bonus prices fluctuate between as low as below Shs 20 to about 35 per year, and on a monthly basis, no farmer makes money from the monthly payments made by KTDA. The more correct truth, therefore, is that producers in the developing world are the neo-colonial period slaves.
You have also not seriously analyzed the income that is potentially available from farmers outside of the coffee auction.
On average a 50-kilogramme bag of coffee fetches $180 (Sh18,165) at the New York Coffee auction. That is about Shs 360 per kg of green coffee.
Converted to Red cherries (divide by 7), the amount translates to Shs 52 per
kg. Before transport, marketing and administration costs. So what additional income can farmers get even if they were to take their produce to the New York Exchange?
Of course there is what is called the second window, and some groups have found their markets through this window, through which Grower/Marketers can secure orders directly from roasters, or roast and pack their coffee for direct sales through distribution chains such as supermarkets. That level of play is another game all together.
Haron Wachira 