A coffee tree in the Blue Mountains laden with berries almost ready to be reaped on August 25, 2006 - file

John Myers Jr., Farmers Weekly Coordinator

Coffee farmers are again restive as it is unlikely that the Trustees of the Coffee Farmers Insurance Fund will be able to resolve the issues preventing the payout of the proceeds in time for this month-end deadline.

Representative of the Blue Mountain coffee farmers, Derrick Simon told Farmers Weekly yesterday that "the Coffee (Industry) Board has recommended an IT specialised company to clean the list that they used to make the interim payments that the government advanced last year October ... (but) the trustees are currently having a serious problem with them because the trustees, as it appears to be, cannot afford them."

According to Mr. Simon, the company is charging in excess of $500,000 to carry out the job. "Right now the whole situation is in limbo, it is very likely that any deadline at the month end will also be missed," he lamented.

A source at the Board of Trustees, who did not want to be identified, confirmed that the payments would be made by the end of the month. He also acknowledged the problems being experienced with the company selected to resolve the issues affecting the payout.

Overpayments

Mr. Simon explained that the trustees have been unable to make the payments "because of issues of overpayments, staledated cheques and duplication" with the list of farmers who are to benefit from the insurance proceeds.

The problems have surfaced since the trustees and the liquidators of the defunct Dyoll Insurance Company reachedan out-of-court settlement for 80 per cent of the US$3.2 million in entitlements in February, coffee farmers have been unable to access the funds.

But Mr. Simpsons yesterday warned that "the farmers are very restive, this year's crop is now at risk and they would have also lost their money in bringing this crop to perfection if it is not sprayed and the window for spraying is gone. We are up a creek without a paddle."

An effort is now being made to shortlist and invite bids from at least three qualified companies to resolve the issues with the list.