Coffee farming has turned into a great livelihood for Baringo residents following the commissioning of the first-ever mill in the county.
The Sh100 million mill started operations in June. It was acquired through collaboration with Korean Investor Rev Cha Bo Yong following the signing of an MoU with the county government.
The factory has a milling capacity of 1.2 tonnes per hour. More farmers are turning to coffee farming, which they have described as a game-changer. Previously, they had to ferry their beans to as far as Eldoret and Ruiru. Many gave up.
Willy Cherogony, 60, told KNA on his farm in Kapropita, Baringo Central, that the crop has greatly supported his family of eight since 2002 when he started growing it.
Cherogony said he has an undying love for coffee and only death can separate them. He says he has been urging other residents to adopt coffee farming. The crop is their green gold.
"I planted 400 Ruiru 11 coffee seedlings over 20 years ago because of my undying passion for coffee and it has paid me handsomely. The good part of the crop is that it doesn’t require much input and for now I have used its proceeds to fund my children’s education all through to university,” he said.
The farmer revealed that he has five hectares of coffee in the Mochongoi and Kapcherebet areas, which have earned him the reputation of being one of the county’s highest-earning farmers. He gets over Sh400,000 annually from the coffee auctioned at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange and the Korean market.
“Unlike other crops, coffee prices keep fluctuating depending on NCE; for instance, last month a kilogramme went for around Sh800 for the top grade, which is good money,” he said.
On the farm, his two sons, who are graduates, are always busy weeding happily. They have learnt the merits of coffee farming which has enabled their father to raise their fees.
"The county government has intensified marketing by selling our coffee directly to a Korean company whose prices are quite attractive compared to what is offered in the NCE. I sell my coffee beans directly to the mill, unlike other small scale farmers who are mandated to first form a society to enable them to use it as an avenue of selling theirs to millers, ” Cherogony said.
Before the commissioning of the mill at Katimok in Baringo North, Cherogony says he would sell his coffee to a miller in Eldoret. The process was challenging in terms of transportation and at times he was shortchanged during grading.
“I used to take my coffee to the Eldoret mill, but, unfortunately, brokers would tamper with the grading system by giving me a grade that doesn’t reflect the type of coffee beans I delivered to them,” he said.
Cherogony, who doubles up as a coffee extension officer, said he is able to raise and sell his own quality seedlings.
He encourages aspiring farmers to seek advice from experts before planting so that an assessment is done to determine the suitability of the soil and even get to be advised on issues like spacing and crop varieties.
Elijah Chepngeno, a 60-year-old farmer from Eldama Ravine, said he adopted coffee-growing four years ago after getting motivated by his neighbour whose family had high living standards courtesy of coffe.
He, too, now smiles all the way to the bank upon harvesting. Chepngeno has half an acre under coffee. He previously used to plant maize but suffered losses as the cost of production surpassed revenues. This is no longer the case with coffee as it is not labour-intensive.
The small-scale farmer, a beneficiary of subsidised coffee seedlings provided by the county government, noted that coffee has improved his family's life. More than 400,000 seedlings have been distributed to farmers.
Chepngeno sells his coffee through cooperative society. They are, however, not immune to challenges, which include fluctuating market prices, lack of access to affordable input such as fertilisers and chemicals. But they have to be patient.
County director of agriculture Vincent Abuje said coffee is one of the most targeted cash crops by the county government. It does well in areas along the Tugen Hills like Poi, Talai, parts of Eldama Ravine, Seretunin, Sirwa, Kasisit, Tirimionin, Kituro, Ossen and Kipsaraman, which have favourable climatic conditions, altitude and soil.
The variety grown in those areas is mostly Arabica, which includes SLP 7/28, Ruiru 11 and Batian. Abuje said the county government has made deliberate efforts to increase production by supplying farmers with seedlings and supported societies with 600 kilos of certified seeds to raise seedlings for supply to members.
“The cash crop mostly grown in rural areas is considered organic by default because farmers still use compost manure instead of using industry manufactured fertilisers. This gives our coffee a competitive edge,” he said.
To alleviate the situation, he said the county government has gone out of its way to source direct markets in countries like South Korea besides intensifying capacity building of extension service providers to realise increased production.
“On coffee processing, three factories, Kabimoi, Kapkawa and Moinget have been refurbished and more are targeted for renovation to ensure Baringo retains its fame of producing high-quality commercial coffee,” Abuje said.
He called on growers who have abandoned their tree bushes to go back to the farm as the current supply will not be enough to operationalise the three modern milling machines in the county.
Commissioning the ultra-modern coffee mill at Katimok with two lines that can mill both parchment and mbuni beans, Governor Stanley Kiptis noted that the machine, which has a lab, warehouse and information centre, is expected to boost farmers’ income immensely through value addition.
He reiterated that the county has developed a concrete road map for the revival of the coffee subsector, which residents had abandoned because of poor market prices.
Kiptis pointed out the reason for the revitalisation of the cash crop is to improve livelihoods and sustain coffee processing in a region that has a potential of 1,820 tonnes per year.
"In 2020 alone we have supplied 30,000 coffee seedlings to our farmers in a bid to increase the acreage of land under coffee from 700 hectares in 2017 to 3,000 hectares by the year 2022,” he said.
Wildlife Principal Secretary Fred Segor said the Baringo mill will improve Kenya’s ability to process local produce for export, which currently stands at 16 per cent.
Segor urged county governments to inject more money into agriculture to improve lives and local economies.
Isabella Nkonge, the head of the Coffee directorate in the Food and Agriculture Organisation, said it will be meaningless for a huge factory to be commissioned, only to collapse because of inadequate raw material.
