Farmers narrate misfortunes that swept away Kenya’s black gold earnings

KENYA: Early this year, Kagere Coffee Factory made headlines when members, who were opposed to a marketing pool that had been introduced by the Nyeri County government, burnt down bags of their own coffee.

One such farmer was George Gichuru who inherited his 1,000 coffee bushes from his late father, who had planted them in 1969.

Mr Gichuru recalls the 1970's when the old man dedicated all his land to growing the 'black gold'. "In those days, my father would harvest at least 12,000kg of coffee berries from the farm and the prices were very encouraging," said Gichuru.

Gichuru vividly recalls a season in the 1970s when his father harvested 30,000 kgs of coffee cherries.

"During the season, farmers were paid Sh2 per kilogramme and mzee had a reason to smile all the way to the bank to collect his proceeds that amounted to Sh60,000," said Gichuru.

The amount was so huge that his father built a decent permanent house, bought 10 acres of land in various parts Nyeri and Laikipia and paid school fees for his 13 children.

"Our fathers were so strict with farm work because they knew the treasures that were hidden in the coffee berries. It did not matter how young you were…we were all turned into farmhands," he said.

But decades later, the script has changed.

The farmers are now living in the shadow of those good old days.

Gichuru notes that on average, he produces about 500 kilogrammes of coffee every season. Last year, he worked extra hard and produced 600kgs of cherries, which Kagere Coffee Factory handed over to Thika Coffee Mills.

When we visited the village over the weekend, we found Gichuru's neighbour, William Wachira busy preparing a kiln of charcoal, which he says is prepared using coffee trunks.

Mr Wachira said he decided to uproot his 350 bushes after long spells of earning meagre amounts of money. "I do not see any reason to continue with coffee farming since the more work i do, the less I earn. I decided to uproot the bushes and plant eucalyptus, because I earn more money," he said.

As compared to the 1970s and 1980s, coffee production has greatly decreased in almost all coffee-growing regions. The farmers cite poor prices, mismanagement of coffee factories and cooperative societies as well as infiltration of the marketing chain by brokers, leading to increased deductions which translate in the payment slips.

The farmers further accuse the Government of abetting corruption in the chain, saying most people engaging in the trade do not have the interest of the farmers at heart.

"The Government also used to deploy field extension officers who used to guide farmers on modern farming technologies, but they are no longer on the ground. We also used to get subsidised chemicals and other coffee inputs but we have been left at the mercy of ruthless agro-chemical dealers whose intention is only to siphon everything we have," said Wachira.