Long regarded as sugarcane growing zone, western Kenya is aggressively diversifying into coffee and tea farming to take advantage of favourable international.

The diversification from sugarcane – informed by controversies over factory ownership and management in addition to contraband sugar glut – poses fresh threat to the aggressive push by the government to revive a subsector that is struggling to get enough material.

Through the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the government is supporting smallholder coffee farmers with resources, training and financial assistance.

Long regarded as poor man’s crop – because of the long periods it takes to recoup investment – sugarcane is blamed for crushing poverty in western Kenya as a result of the vicissitudes occasioned by sugar smuggling and price fiddling by millers.

Therefore, Kenyan is taking bold steps to revive coffee farming in Vihiga County, western Kenya, as part of its broader strategy to strengthen the agricultural sector, a major contributor to the country’s gross domestic product and employment.

Speaking at a farmers’ awareness forum at Ebukanga Polytechnic in Vihiga, Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya announced the distribution of free coffee seedlings to boost production. Oparanya noted that annual production in the country has declined to just 51,900 tonnes, down from 200,000 tonnes 25 years ago.

The minister says Kenya plans to coffee production to over 500,000 tonnes in five years.

Statistics gleaned from the ministry of agriculture website shows coffee is the third-largest agricultural export that employs some 600,000 farmers. The data sows the subsector has faced challenges in recent years, a situation the ministry is addressing with provision of seedlings and farmer training.

“Since the 1987/88 crop year, Kenya has seen a 70 per cent decrease in coffee production. This decline is attributed to erratic weather patterns, decreased water availability, elevated temperatures, and consolidation in the coffee supply chain,” says Farm Trend, an industry publication.

To address this the cabinet secretary says the government has committed Ksh8 billion ($61.8 million) to the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund (CCARF), offering smallholder farmers low-cost advances of Sh40 per kilogram delivered to the coffee mill before the coffee is auctioned.

Managed by the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU), the fund aims to stabilize farmers’ incomes, enable the purchase of farm inputs, and support daily living expenses. The cabinet secretary also highlighted reforms at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), including the licensing of cooperatives to sell directly,

“With the current reforms the farmers will have the money channelled to the cooperatives then to the farmers’ pockets in just five days,” Oparanya said.

To further support the sector, two youth selected from each of the 25 wards in Vihiga will be trained as extension officers to assist farmers. Oparanya urged farmers to emulate neighbouring countries like Ethiopia and Uganda, which significantly outperform Kenya in coffee production.

 In 2024, Ethiopia produced 400,000 metric tonnes, Uganda over 200,000 and Kenya only 51,000 tonnes.

The cabinet secretary further said that Vihiga produced 6,190 kilogrammes, while Kisumu led the region with 72,630 kilogrammes, followed by Kakamega (33,470 kilogrammes) and Siaya (1,580 kilogrammes) during the 2023/2024 financial year.

Emuhaya Member of Parliament Omboko Milemba echoed the cabinet secretary’s sentiments and called for the revival of coffee factories and cooperatives to spur growth.

Milemba underlined the need for improved earnings and support, encouraging farmers to return to their fields with renewed vigour. The government has also pledged to secure international markets, ensuring a stable and profitable future for Kenyan coffee farmers.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Rose Wasike

Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya and other leaders at a farmers’ awareness forum at Ebukanga Polytechnic in Vihiga.