Coffee revival gathers pace as 6 western counties chart sector recovery

Jukwaa

📻 Breaking It Down

The regional forum in Kisumu brought together representatives from Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Nyamira, Migori and Kisii counties as part of a nationwide government programme seeking to revive coffee as a major cash crop and strengthen Kenya’s position in the global market.

Speaking during the meeting, National Steering Committee member Okioma Omwancha said Kenya was once among Africa’s leading coffee producers and exporters but had witnessed decades of declining production, prompting many farmers to abandon the crop.

“In the 1980s, Kenya was one of Africa’s leading coffee producers and exporters. We have the soils, the climate and the quality, but production declined over the years. Our task now is to restore the sector to where it belongs,” he said.

📌 What You Need to Know

Omwancha said the revival programme is anchored on making coffee farming profitable again by improving returns to growers, expanding production and eliminating market distortions that have historically disadvantaged farmers.

He said the initiative aligns with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda by ensuring more earnings flow directly to producers.

“If every farmer grows coffee properly and receives fair returns without interference from cartels, coffee can once again transform rural livelihoods,” he said.

Under the proposed reforms, at least 80 per cent of coffee sale proceeds would be paid directly to farmers, with the remaining 20 per cent retained by cooperative societies to support their operations.

“The thinking is that farmers should receive most of the proceeds directly, while cooperative societies remain accountable for the share retained to run their operations,” Omwancha said.

The committee is also promoting the distribution of free coffee seedlings to encourage expansion in both traditional and emerging coffee-growing regions.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya

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