[PHOTOS] Colombia coffee farmers, researchers visit Kenya

Kenya- Colombia technical cooperation on coffee value chain on Monday held a meeting with government officials.

The event at Emara Ole Sereni, Nairobi  was graced by  Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development, Simon Chelugui and Cooperation Principal Secretary Patrick Kilemi, Ambassador of Colombia to Kenya Pedro Leon Cortes and head of delegation Colombian national federation of coffee growers Natalia Una Valencia.

Also other representatives from the office of the Deputy President were present.

The 4-day event will see a turn of sessions including a visit to the coffee farms and factories.

On the first day of the event, the Colombia team together with State officials had a chance to visit the Dandora New KPCU facility and learn on the different processes that the coffee undergoes.

Chelugui said the government is focused on empowering smallholder coffee farmers since the crop plays a key role in enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Kenya.

Statistics from the National Coffee Directorate indicate that in the 2022/23 season, Kenya exported 47,861 Metric Tonnes with a corresponding value of Sh36.6 billion (USD 251.86 million).

“The Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) envisions a productive coffee subsector hence committed to increasing coffee production from the current annual production from 51,000 metric tonnes to 200,000 metric tons by the year 2027,” said Chelugui.