Kenya annual coffee production has increased to 51,583 metric tonnes this year up from 34, 000 metric tonnes in 2021.
This signifies a 47 per cent increase following a raft of measures taken by the government to revive the sector.
Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Coffee Directorate Acting Director Enos Akuma attributed the positive outcome to various policies and research by the government.
He pointed out the revolving fund established two years ago and the 40 per cent fertilizer subsidy programmes which he said have lured farmers who had abandoned the crop.
“These programmes have assisted farmers to put more resources in coffee and we have seen production go up,” he said.
Interventions by the private sector, he added, have equally contributed to the high yields expressing optimism that the production will be sustained into the next year despite a reduction in global prices.
“The government has scaled up these programmes and we expect to see sustained production in the coming years,” he said.
The coffee directorate, he said, was pursuing public private sector partnerships to ensure that farmers get access to quality seed and inputs and access markets as the government seeks to scale up production to an average of 200, 000 metric tonnes a year.
The sector, he said, was faced with a myriad of challenges among them price volatility, climate change, high cost of production and lack of markets adding that the directorate was on course to deliver research based recommendations and innovations to keep farmers afloat.
“That is why we are seeking partnerships with the private sector so that they channel resources to the innovations and recommendations to drive the sector,” he said.
Among the innovations, he said, is diversification where farmers are being encouraged to venture into climate smart agriculture by planting other crops alongside coffee to sustain them as they wait for the crop to undergo full cycle.
Speaking in Kisumu during the closure of a five-year project which targeted to build resilience for coffee farmers, Akuma asked farmers to scale up production to navigate through the volatile prices.
“I urge farmers to put more resources in coffee to scale up production so that when the prices decline due to external factors they still can make something out of the crop,” he said.
The directorate, he added, was encouraging farmers to form strong cooperative unions through which they can access direct markets and reap big from their produce.
“We are exploring options other than the Nairobi Coffee Auction where farmers can negotiate with roasters and bag long term contracts to navigate through the volatile global markets,” he said.
The Coffee Resilience Project rolled out by Solidaridad, a nonprofit organization targeted farmers in Machakos, Embu, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Nandi, Nyamira, Kericho counties.
Akuma lauded Solidaridad for the project, which he said has helped boost yields in Central, Rift and western regions.
Solidaridad Fundraising Unit Head Molly Kwama said through the project funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12, 000 farmers in the seven counties were mobilized.
The farmers, she said, have been able to access markets and inputs scaling up production.
The goal of the project, she added, was to ensure coffee farmers in the target areas lived a dignified life.
The project, she said, introduced diversification, where the farmers were trained and encouraged to venture in apiculture, dairy farming and fruits production for both nutrition and to supplement earnings from coffee.
Through partnership with the Coffee Research Institute (CRI), the farmers have been trained on best practices to boost quality and attract new markets.
By Chris Mahandara
