On May 29, 2022, a delegation of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives visited coffee factories in Gatanga sub-county to assess the uptake of coffee cherry advance loans.
During their visit, the committee members expressed concerns over the slow uptake of the loans, with Ksh 2 billion of the fund remaining unused.
The legislators, led by Gichugu MP Robert Gichimu Githinji and Gatanga MP Hon Joseph Nduati Ngugi, observed that farmers have not been adequately informed about the benefits of the Cherry fund, which offers a low interest rate of 3 percent.
They urged coffee farmers to take advantage of the fund, using their previous delivered coffee as collateral, and called on the New Kenya Planters Coffee Union (New KPCU) to intensify its efforts to sensitize farmers on the importance of the Cherry fund.
