- Embu and Kiambu coffee co-ops now require members to buy 500g of coffee annually.
- IPSIA is supporting farmers with roasting, processing and packaging equipment.
- The initiative aims to boost local coffee consumption and farmer earnings.
Four coffee cooperative societies in Embu and Kiambu counties have resolved to boost local coffee consumption by requiring each member to buy at least half a kilogramme of the produce annually.
Under a programme dubbed “Eat what you produce,” farmers affiliated to the Gititu, Mikari, Kithungururu and Kagaari North cooperative societies agreed that each member must consume at least 500 grammes of roasted coffee a year, as they work to boost sales of their commodity.
The societies are being supported by the Institute for Peace, Development, Innovation (IPSIA), an Italian NGO, which has provided equipment for processing, roasting, and packaging as farmers target their first customers.
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Dennis Mwenda, a programme officer at IPSIA, said the organisation has been mentoring the coffee farmers to help them capture more value from their produce through local initiatives.
He said packaging is part of the innovation adopted by the farmers to support marketing of their coffee, which is now available in a number of outlets.
“The resolution by the coffee farmers in the four cooperatives was mooted towards increasing consumption of coffee in Kenya, where the majority view it as an export material,” said Mwenda.
The four cooperatives showcased their initiative alongside the Nyeri Hill Organic Herbs and Eco Fuels Enterprise, a youth-run outfit that is also roasting and packaging coffee to meet rising local demand, during last week’s Third National Agroecology Symposium in Nairobi. Several community-based organisations and NGOs exhibited homegrown solutions promoting organic farming at the event.
Coffee value chain expert Henry Kinyua said a number of initiatives are now promoting local coffee consumption.
“We have more coffee factories within the country roasting their coffee and fetching better returns from the local markets,” said Kinyua.
By Bonface Gikandi
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