Uasin Gishu County Governor Dr. Jonathan Chelilim has hailed the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund as a game changer for coffee farmers saying it will enhance access to inputs hence boosting production.
Speaking during the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund sensitization forum in Eldoret, governor Chelilim said the move provides a platform for synergy by actors in the coffee value chain who include farmers, policymakers, financial institutions, marketers, and key stakeholders in the industry.
“This is a noble event as it provides a platform for our farmers who are either growing or eager to join the lucrative sector and they are here to discuss how the coffee cherry advance revolving fund will be operationalized to benefit them,” Chelilim said.
He noted that the coffee industry has been a significant economic driver for the county and has continued to enhance its contributions to agricultural growth and fostering rural development.
The governor said Uasin Gishu County is noted as a prominent coffee-growing region and added it is the responsibility of the administration to ensure that farmers receive the support they need to thrive in this sub-sector.
He affirmed that the Fund established by the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs is a game changer for coffee farmers and reassured farmers that through this boost, they will be well placed to enhance their productivity and improve the quality of their produce.
“It is important to note that for a long time, accessing credit and financing has been a challenge for many of our farmers and this fund seeks to bridge the gap by providing cherry advances. My clarion call to our farmers is to embrace diversification to benefit from their produce,” said Dr. Chelilim.
Dr. Chelilim reiterated that his administration, through the Department of Agriculture, has been heavily involved in farmer training through collaborative efforts with other stakeholders to provide solutions to emerging local and global challenges experienced in various sectors including Coffee.
“My government is aware of a number of challenges affecting the performance of the coffee sub-sector such as lack of a robust policy, legal and institutional framework, and climate change. Despite the challenges, there is a need to diversify from the low-value food crops under rain-fed agriculture to the high-value crops under supplementary irrigation,” he added.
He further noted that the county has made major strides in the sub-sector by supporting farmers to access Coffee seedlings, increasing the acreage under coffee from 83 acres to 1,451 acres eight years on.
In addition, the county administration has also supported farmers in the construction of a 4-acre Coffee Nursery at ATC Chebororwa and also provided 28 motorized Coffee pulpers and one Eco-Pulper machine with a capacity of one tonne per hour installed at Turbo Coffee Farmers’ Co-operative Society.
The county boss indicated that his administration plans to expand coffee production by supporting farmers in accessing certified seedlings, and appropriate farm inputs, providing extension services, expanding of water system to enhance intensive irrigation, adopting the National Coffee policy and associated regulations, and establishing of one million Coffee seedlings at Chebororwa Agricultural Training Centre (ATC).
He urged farmers to join cooperatives as he assured them of his support to develop cooperatives so that they could manage crop enterprise development.
“We are working closely with development partners to boost the Coffee sub-sector, and I commend the efforts carried out by the New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union in upgrading the Coffee sub-sector,” he said.
He commended efforts by partners working closely with the county government for playing a vital role in ensuring farmers produce quality Coffee beans for local and international markets.
Uasin Gishu County’s annual coffee production rate currently stands at approximately 106 metric tonnes.
By Ekuwam Sylvester
