- New KPCU has distributed thousands of coffee seedlings to farmers in Kangundo to support the revival of coffee production in Lower Eastern.
- Kakuyuni Farmers Cooperative Society is targeting more than 50,000 seedlings as production recovers from previous lows.
- The union plans to distribute 20,000 seedlings by the end of the financial year as part of efforts to boost national coffee output.
Hope has returned for coffee farmers in Kangundo after the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU) distributed thousands of high-yielding coffee seedlings to members of the Kakuyuni Farmers Cooperative Society, in a drive aimed at reviving the crop’s fortunes in Lower Eastern.
Speaking during the distribution exercise at Kakuyuni, farmers said the intervention had come at a time when coffee prices are improving, motivating many who had abandoned the crop to return.
Cecilia Sila, a farmer from Kakuyuni, said she was happy because New KPCU had brought them seedlings to plant for income generation. She noted that coffee is profitable and that farming is no longer for the elderly only.
“I was educated through coffee and now I can farm coffee myself. Within six months, we expect our coffee to thrive. We ask New KPCU to increase the supply of seedlings,” said Sila.
Another farmer, John Maingi, who is a member of the Kakuyuni Farmers Cooperative Society, thanked New KPCU and its development partners for the support. He said coffee profits had gone down over the years, forcing many to quit, but the situation is now improving and farmers are ready to go back to coffee farming.
The chairman of the Kakuyuni Farmers Cooperative Society, Richard Makau, said the society has a rich history spanning more than 60 years in coffee farming. He recalled that at its peak, the society was producing two million kilos of coffee, but production later collapsed to as low as 64,000 kilos.
Makau said production has now started to recover and has crossed the 100,000 kilos mark, and they are confident they will return to their initial production level. He added that they are happy with the government’s provision of seedlings, and they plan to plant over 50,000 seedlings before the onset of the rains. He expressed optimism that after five years, the region will have a few millionaires from coffee farming.
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Speaking during the exercise, Martha Mwai from New KPCU said the union is committed to ensuring that every farmer gets seedlings to plant. She said they are targeting to distribute 20,000 seedlings by the end of this financial year, noting that they have already been to Murang’a and Makueni and are also planning to visit Embu.
Mwai said the distribution is part of fulfilling President William Ruto’s directive to increase national coffee production from 50,000 metric tonnes to 150,000 metric tonnes. She urged the youth to actively engage in coffee farming to ensure money in the pocket and food on the table, noting that coffee farming is a lucrative agribusiness with guaranteed returns.
The government, through New KPCU, has intensified the distribution of subsidised seedlings and farm inputs across the country as part of reforms in the coffee sub-sector to increase productivity and improve farmer incomes.
Currently, the country produces 36,000 metric tonnes of coffee annually on 119,000 acres of land.
Key coffee-producing areas in Ukambani include Machakos, Kangundo, Kwa Matingi and Kathiani, while Mbooni and Kilungu in Makueni County also produce substantial coffee
By Gastone Valusi
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