Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina has renewed calls for radical reforms in Kenya’s coffee industry, urging the government to scrap the Coffee Act (Cap 333), which he described as oppressive and a stumbling block to farmer empowerment and fair pricing.
In a statement issued Saturday, Ole Kina said the time had come to fully liberalise the sector by dismantling restrictive laws that deny farmers and millers direct access to global markets.
“I think it’s time to completely liberate the coffee sector. Torch the tyrannical Coffee Act (Cap 333). Let Mt Kenya farmers and millers sell to any buyer, just like tea factories do directly worldwide, unleashing supply and demand for real prices,” he declared, dismissing the current framework as “neo‑colonial nonsense.”
The senator argued that the law entrenches monopoly control, suppresses competition, and limits farmer earnings, particularly for smallholders forced to sell through regulated channels. Enacted during the colonial era, the Coffee Act created the Coffee Board of Kenya with sweeping powers over licensing, milling, marketing, and exports. It prohibits farmers from selling coffee directly to buyers and imposes strict licensing requirements on dealers, brokers, millers, and warehouse operators, with heavy penalties for violations.
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Critics, including Ole Kina, say these controls have enabled cartels and middlemen to dominate the value chain, delaying payments and denying farmers fair prices. His remarks come as the government rolls out reforms aimed at reviving the struggling sector.
In May 2025, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki announced sweeping changes ahead of the 2025/2026 harvest season, pledging to dismantle cartels and boost farmer incomes. Addressing more than 12,000 farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kindiki said the government was finalising reforms to ensure the timely supply of subsidised fertiliser, pesticides, and certified seedlings through enhanced funding of the Coffee Research Institute.
He added that licensing protocols had been simplified to eliminate multiple permits across the value chain. “We have revised licensing to require only one licence per person, whether as a miller, broker, or marketer, to reduce bureaucracy and exploitation,” Kindiki said. He further noted that Parliament would finalise the Coffee Act, 2025, and the Cooperatives Act, 2025, to strengthen governance of coffee factories and cooperative societies.
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According to Kindiki, coffee cherry prices have already improved, with farmers earning between Sh110 and Sh150 per kilogram in the most recent season, a sign, he said, that “the return of the coffee boom of old is within sight.”
Additional reforms have been outlined by Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, who has urged farmers to embrace ongoing programmes to modernise coffee farming. Speaking in Kilgoris, Narok County, Oparanya said the government aims to raise production from about 51,000 metric tonnes to 151,000 metric tonnes by 2028/2029 and generate Sh100 billion in revenue by 2029.
The strategy includes distributing 20 million seedlings annually, increasing productivity per tree from 2kg to 5kg, improving cooperative governance, and expanding access to global markets. Emerging coffee‑growing regions in Western Kenya, Nyanza, and the Rift Valley are also being targeted for investment.
By Masaki Enock
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