Meru coffee farmer secures US market, urges growers to boost production

A worker at Gakuyu-ini factory spreads coffee beans on the drying bed. [Jane Mugambi, Standard]

Charles Mutwiri of Mukarimu Coffee Estates in Meru has returned from the US, where he had gone to look for new coffee markets and benchmarking.

Mr Mutwiri is one of the biggest individual coffee farmers in the country, and due to his experience, he was appointed the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) director.

He flew back to the country from California, where he had gone to meet buyers interested in Kenyan coffee, and he has good news.

"There is a big market for Kenyan coffee in the US, and we need to take advantage and produce good quality in large amounts," Mutwiri said at one of his farms in Kaing'inyo, North Imenti, Meru county.

The one-week tour of the US followed a 2025 visit to Chicago, where he attended a coffee expo that brought together coffee importers and other stakeholders.

Mutwiri, who is also the treasurer of Imenya Coffee Society, comprising 139 estate farmers, some of the biggest farmers in the region, challenged farmers to increase production to satisfy the demand of the market.

"As a farmer and New KPCU director, I was in California to look for buyers. I went to meet farmers, buyers, roasters and other people in the sector," he said.

Mutwiri said that although he has the capacity to produce up to 200,000 kg of coffee as an individual, the California buyers need at least four containers monthly.

A single container carries 320 bags of 50kg, and Mutwiri said farmers have to come together and produce the desired quality and volumes.

"I had carried samples of my coffee to California, and after cupping it, they loved it. The buyers want large consignments of the coffee every month, without fail. The onus is on us to produce the best quality and volumes because the market is in place," he said.

He has dedicated his time to training farmers in Laikipia, Tharaka Nithi, Meru and other areas on best practices.

His focus, he said, was to get more young people in farms.

"I am training them so that they can get between 30 and 100 kg from a single tree, like me. I am in Kakamega and other counties in Western Kenya, including Busia. I am also training farmers in the Rift Valley, Central, even in Taita Taveta, which has a good climate for coffee to thrive," he said.

Mutwiri revealed that he is gradually phasing out the Ruiru 11 variety in favour of SL28. 

"Not long ago, I uprooted 10 acres, and when I start harvesting from the SL28 soon, I will uproot the remaining 10 acres of Ruiru 11. SL28 is three times more productive and profitable, despite the diseases that attack it. The diseases can be managed," he said.

"I have had Ruiru 11 for over 30 years, but a lot of research has made me opt for SL 28, because experiments have shown a single bush can yield up to 100 kg. If you sell a kilo at Sh100, you get a good profit even after deducting expenses," he added.

Mutwiri's hard work and experience led to his appointment as a New KPCU director and a member of the National Steering Committee and County Steering Committee meant to revitalise the crop.

The 15-member National Steering Committee tasked with reviving coffee was picked by Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya.

Farmers, marketers and other stakeholders said the committee would change the fortunes of long-suffering farmers.

Together with Mutwiri, Eva Muthuri of Eva's Coffee, an exporter, is advocating for the inclusion of more young people in coffee farming, seeing as ageing farmers make up a significant population of farmers.

Ms Muthuri said Kenya needs to 'catch up' with Ethiopia and Uganda, which are among the 10 biggest producers of coffee in the world.

Brazil, at the top, commands 38 per cent of the global share. 

Uganda has a share of 4 per cent of the market, and Ethiopia 5 per cent.

"Why can't we catch up with Ethiopia and Uganda?" She posed.

"For me, the new dispensation is if you don't own any coffee on your farm, you are likely to be irrelevant in the value chain, especially with the new international auction system," said Muthuri.

"I would advise young people to plant a few trees and learn methods of fermentation and processing and enter the marketplace digitally. That is the true art of reckoning with a broken system in which you are eternally entrenched. Production, processing and technology will deliver for the youth," she added.

Mutwiri established a demonstration farm near Meru Town where he trains local farmers and from other counties.

Mutwiri, who started farming in the 70s with 150 trees but has thousands now, has also been visiting different counties to train farmers on best practices.

"My father gifted me 150 bushes in my teens in the 70s, and now I have thousands of bushes and earn good money. I train others on good husbandry and challenge them to produce more because the market is big," he said.

"I am encouraging young people to take advantage of government support and go into coffee farming. It has the potential to create employment opportunities and wealth for Kenyan youth," he added.

Several years ago Mutwiri started a project to have youth embrace coffee farming to reinvigorate the sector in the region. 

Hundreds have embraced coffee.

He said as an experienced farmer who has made a living from the crop all his life, he was concerned that young people preferred boda-boda riding to farming, which is way better and risk-free.

Mutwiri said coffee is more profitable than the boda boda business and urged older farmers to involve their children into coffee.

“I did not have much education and was given a small parcel by my father to plant coffee in 1976, and he gave me 150 bushes to start me off. I want to use my own experience to inspire the youth,” Mutwiri said.

He promised to give new farmers 150 seedlings at no charge, and train them on how to plant and care for the trees.

Among those who have visited his farm are former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza and several Cabinet Secretaries.