This archive report was first published on 21 April 2020.
Kenya's coffee industry is facing a significant challenge, with production declining to 40,000 metric tonnes annually from a high of 140,000 metric tonnes. To address this issue, the Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on a Sh1.5 billion coffee revitalization plan, targeting eight counties that account for 70 percent of coffee production in the country.
According to Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives Peter Munya, the government's focus is on improving the production and quality of coffee in the country. The program will be funded by a concessional loan from the World Bank and will be upscaled to the rest of the country by September.
Phase one of the project will target Machakos, Kiambu, Muranga, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Embu, Meru, and Tharaka Nithi counties. The Ministry of Agriculture officers have been tasked with identifying bottlenecks in coffee production in each county and offer a tailor-made solution to the farmers.
Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary has directed that all traders in the Coffee exchange and Tea auctions to embrace technology and automate within two months or lose their licenses. This move aims to address the lack of transparency and accountability in the trade, which has been cited as a stumbling block to the sourcing of better prices and international markets for the products.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had previously announced a raft of measures geared towards governance of the tea, milk, and coffee sectors in the country after perennial losses to farmers and infiltration of the trades by cartel, brokers, and middlemen.
