Farmers rejoice as Kenya writes off $24M in debts

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Poor coffee farmers from central Kenya have told Anadolu Agency they received their Christmas gift early this year after President Uhuru Kenyatta wrote off $24 million in bank debts on their behalf.

Martin Kimani, a Mount Kenya farmer who had given out his land's title deeds to secure a loan, said:

“I have been paying my loan for a long time but I had no hopes of finishing it anytime soon. This meant I didn’t have any money to buy enough seeds and manure, let alone feed my family.

“This is the best Christmas gift for us,” he said.

During a tour of central Kenya on Wednesday -- where communities mainly depend on farming to earn a living -- President Kenyatta announced to coffee farmers that the government had already stepped in to waive their $24 million debts.

Kenyatta told the farmers the money had already been released to cooperative banks and that they should go back and collect their title deeds which were being held as collateral.

Another farmer, Rebecca Njeri, told Anadolu Agency she would be able to sell part of her land to raise university fees for her child.

“I couldn’t sell any part of my farm because I didn’t have the title deed, but now that I do I will sell a portion of the land and ensure that my daughter is in school come January. We are really grateful to our government,” Njeri said.

According to government statistics, Kenya produces around 900,000, 60-kilogram bags of coffee annually – the country’s third most-valuable export product.