• According to data from KCP, Kenya produces fine Arabica coffee that fetches premium prices in the world market.
• But despite this, current production in the country stands at slightly over 50,000 metric tonnes, which is still low compared to Kenya's potential.
Image: FILE
County Governments and agricultural stakeholders have called on the National Government to intensify and coordinate reforms in the coffee sector to help boost production.
Nyeri county Agriculture executive James Wacihi said the National Government needs speedy interventions to address the challenges inhibiting implementation of coffee reforms.
“We have to pursue receptive reforms in the industry with a view to ensuring desired benefits are achieved mainly through increased production.
Implementation of the changes requires harmonious working relationships along the entire value chain,” he said.The CEC spoke on Monday during a coffee stakeholders meeting organised by the Kenya Coffee Platform (KCP) in Nairobi.
Wacihi said there have been complaints by farmers on the declining prices at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE).
“More than 80 per cent of agriculture is devolved and the national government is charged with policy formulation which it should undertake involving all the other stakeholders,” he added.
The country’s market share in terms of coffee production stands at less than one per cent, accounting to between 500,000 and one million bags of clean coffee annually.
This is compared to countries of Uganda and Ethiopia that are among the top 20 in the world.
According to data from KCP, Kenya produces fine Arabica coffee that fetches premium prices in the world market.
Anyone opposed to reforms within agriculture is an enemy of the farmer, whether in business or the political class, and must be prepared for defeat. The farmer must be protected from any exploitation.”Dorcas Kirori, a livestock production and agricultural expert
But despite this, current production in the country stands at slightly over 50,000 metric tonnes, which is still low compared to Kenya's potential.
Uganda, for example, exports for 12 months for the 2020/21 financial year reached 6.08 million bags worth US$559.26 million compared to 5.11 million bags worth US$496.28 million the previous year.
Kenya Coffee Platform chairman Karugu Macharia said implementation of the coffee reforms is critical in order to enhance high production.
“In the current period coffee production increased to slightly over 50,000 metric tonnes compared to below 40,000 metric tonnes in 2021. Working together as stakeholders can help in increasing the production to more than 100,000 metric tonnes annually,” Macharia said.
KCP is a non-partisan organisation that brings coffee stakeholders together with a view of increasing production.
“We are working on a road map to give directions on how to increase coffee production. Our interest is to see how we can get farmers to work together and also to start coffee platforms within the counties,” he said.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
Macharia said so far coffee platforms are in Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Embu and Meru counties.
“We would like to spread out all the other coffee-growing Counties where each of the platforms will be able to articulate issues of increasing production at the specific Counties,” he said.
Dorcas Kirori, a livestock production and agricultural expert, notes that farming is a critical component of the Kenyan economy.
"I support the efforts to reform the sector and liberalize agriculture in our country from cartels, the agriculture bill 2022, for the farmer to gain full control of their labor,” she told The Star.
“Anyone opposed to reforms within agriculture is an enemy of the farmer, whether in business or the political class, must be prepared for defeat. The farmer must be protected from any exploitation.”
Kirori added: “If we are serious about liberating our people from poverty let’s give the right and quality AI services to the farmers, let’s give them farm inputs and give them guaranteed minimum returns on milk, coffee, tea and all products, we must not spare cartels to make a fortune out of the farmers sweat."
Nandi Agriculture CEC Kiplimo Lagat said the previous regime was not able to fast track key coffee reforms.
For instance, he said the National Assembly and Senate disagreed over two coffee bills that were seeking to introduce changes in the industry.
The Senate fast tracked Coffee Bill 2020, while the National Assembly had the Coffee Bill 2021.
“The Senate bill managed to pass all the legislative stages but eventually the MPs could not agree on certain issues. “As stakeholders we are relooking at the Senate Bill with a view to ensuring the industry benefits from the desired reforms,” Lagat stated.