A regional government in central Kenya as embarked on ambitious project to enable coffee farmer to sell their produce directly without having to go through middlemen.

To achieve the goal, Kirinyaga County government is constructing a coffee warehouse to build farmer’s capacity to directly market and sell their produce at coffee auctions. The warehouse is expected to benefit over 120,000 coffee farmers in the county.

The warehouse situated at the Kirinyaga County Cooperative Union premises in Kimicha is expected to address post-harvest challenges and improve earnings for the farmers. It will have the capacity of 40,000 bags of parchment coffee – coffee that has been pulped, fermented and dried but not yet milled and will be fitted with modern features such as aeration cyclones to ensure quality preservation.

The project is aligned with the county’s vision to empower farmers to increase earnings from production, value addition, processing and marketing in order to uplift their living standards.

Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru emphasised the broader vision behind the project. “Once complete, this warehouse will enable us to store and mill coffee from all over the county at our facility. My administration remains committed to making favourable policies that will strengthen coffee farming and ensure our farmers get value for their produce,” she said.

Kirinyaga coffee farmers currently market their produce through the union’s Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company, which works closely with county government to improve the entire coffee value chain from milling to marketing. The firm attained its brokerage status in 2023 after Governor Waiguru helped fast-track the issuance of its brokerage license at the Capital Markets Authority.

Kirinyaga Slopes serves 14 cooperative societies across the county, representing over 120,000 smallholder coffee farmers.

Kirinyaga County Cooperative Union Chair Geoffrey Kinyua said the County’s rapidly growing production had created a pressing need for additional storage space.

“We produced around 42,000 tonnes of cherry last year and we expect to reach 60,000 tonnes soon which the old warehouse couldn’t handle,” he said.

He noted that consolidating Kirinyaga’s coffee through Kirinyaga Slopes has helped improve its visibility and value in the auction market adding that the upcoming warehouse is expected to be completed by the end of the year. With improved infrastructure, consolidated processing and strong policy backing, Kirinyaga’s coffee farmers are expected to be more competitive in both local and international markets.

The project is being implemented by the county government under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project whose goal is to transform smallholder farmers in the counties into commercial farmers by improving their value chains and market access.

It invests in infrastructure, financial services and sustainable agricultural practices relying on Community Interest Groups (CIG) and Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs) to reach and empower farmers.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Mutai Kipngetich