Government steps up efforts to revive coffee sector

Cooperative and Micro,Small and Medium Entetprises Development, Wicklife Oparanya, arrives at Oloitokitok grounds in Kajiado county where he addressed coffee farmers on reviving the coffee sector.[Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

The government has intensified efforts to revive the coffee sector across the country, including Kajiado County, through reforms, farmer sensitisation, and expansion to new growing areas.

Coffee remains one of the most important crops in the country, but production has declined over the years. 

In the 1980s, Kenya ranked second in Africa, but today it ranks fifth, prompting the Ministry of Cooperative & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development to introduce the National Coffee Revival through the Cooperative Movement to boost production.

Speaking in the Loitoktok agricultural belt in Kajiado county, CS Oparanya said one of the major reforms targets governance within cooperatives, which were previously mismanaged and discouraged farmers

He said the Cooperative Bill currently before Parliament is expected to strengthen accountability and improve management.

Cooperative and Micro,Small and Medium Entetprises Development, Wicklife Oparanya, arrives at Oloitokitok grounds in Kajiado county where he addressed coffee farmers on reviving the coffee sector.[Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

''We already have a bill in Parliament; once this bill becomes a law, it will help us strengthen accountability and improve the management in this particular sector,'' said Oparanya. 

''The government has also introduced the Cherry Fund to provide farmers with advance payments to support production and improve the quality of coffee for export,'' he added.

The CS told farmers that the marketing reforms have ensured that each licensed player performs only one role, and farmers are now paid within five days after selling their coffee through the direct settlement system.

''In addition, the government has invested in the distribution of seedlings to farmers, especially to non-traditional coffee growing regions, with free seedlings being issued this year to support expansion and improve yields,'' he said

The interventions will see over 20 million certified coffee seedlings through the Coffee Research Institute (CRI) distributed to farmers.

Kajiado farmers who spoke to the Standard said they are willing to diversify from crop and livestock farming into coffee farming due to the erratic effects of climate change.

''We can't equalise coffee and livestock, coffee is better, on some occasions, due to climate change, we have been losing all the animals during the drought, but cofee do susutain itself with all conditions,'' Said May Orumoi, a farmer.

A handful of Loitokitok farmers grow coffee in small scale after most farmers opted out due to minimal returns in the 1980s.

The government targets to increase coffee production from 50,000 to 150,000 metric tonnes by the 2028/2029 crop year, as part of efforts to restore the sector’s productivity and improve farmers’ earnings.