Kindiki: We’re tightening coffee reforms ahead of 2025-26 season

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki speaking at Kianjang'a Public Grounds in Kirinyaga during a meeting with coffee farmers on May 19, 2025/DPCS

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has announced that the government is finalising critical reforms in the coffee sector aimed at ensuring timely delivery of farm inputs.

He noted that the reforms are also geared towards dismantling longstanding cartels ahead of the 2025/2026 coffee season.

Speaking at Kianjang’a Public Grounds in Ndia Constituency, Kirinyaga County, Kindiki told a gathering of more than 12,000 coffee farmers that the government is focused on restoring profitability in the sector and bringing back the “coffee boom” era through legislative and institutional changes.

“To ensure farmers receive their inputs on time, the government is firming up reforms that will guarantee timely access to fertiliser, subsidised pesticides, and certified coffee seedlings,” Kindiki said.

He added that better funding for the Coffee Research Institute would play a key role in the quality and availability of seedlings.

Key among the reforms is a streamlined licensing process in the coffee value chain. The revised protocol eliminates the need for multiple licenses by allowing each individual or entity to hold just one license—as a miller, broker, or marketer.

“In a few weeks’ time, we expect both Houses of Parliament to finalize the enactment of the Coffee Act, 2025, and the Cooperatives Act, 2025,” the Deputy President stated.

According to Kindiki, the new legal framework will enhance governance and accountability within cooperative societies and coffee factories, while permanently removing exploitative middlemen who have long thrived at the expense of hardworking farmers.

“With a kilo of cherry fetching between Sh110 and Sh150 in the just-ended season, the return of the coffee boom is within sight,” he said, assuring farmers that the government is committed to ensuring they receive maximum value for their produce.

The open engagement forum, aimed at updating farmers on government interventions and gathering their feedback, was attended by MPs George Kariuki (Ndia), Joseph Gitari (Kirinyaga Central), Wangui Ngirichi, Chairperson of the Kenya Seed Company, Kirinyaga County Assembly Speaker Muteti Murimi, MCAs, and officials from coffee cooperatives and factories.

Farmers at the meeting voiced their appreciation for the ongoing reforms, while also calling for further support in marketing, access to finance, and protection from price manipulation.

The government’s renewed push to reform the coffee sector comes amid broader efforts to revive agricultural productivity and increase rural incomes across the country.