By GASTONE VALUSI
Hope has returned for coffee farmers in Kangundo following the distribution of thousands of high-yielding coffee seedlings by the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU) to members of Kakuyuni Farmers Cooperative Society in a drive to revive the crop’s fortunes in Lower Eastern.
Speaking during the distribution exercise at Kakuyuni yesterday, farmers said the intervention had come at a time when coffee prices were improving, encouraging many who had abandoned the crop to return to farming.
Cecilia Sila, a farmer from Kakuyuni, said she was delighted by the initiative, noting that the seedlings would help farmers generate income and improve their livelihoods.
She said coffee farming had traditionally supported many families and should no longer be viewed as an activity reserved for older people.
“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,” Sila said.
Another farmer, John Maingi, a member of Kakuyuni Farmers Cooperative Society, thanked New KPCU and its development partners for supporting the revival of coffee farming in the area.
He said declining earnings over the years had forced many farmers to abandon the crop, but improving returns had renewed interest in coffee production.
Maingi said farmers were now ready to return to coffee farming and take advantage of the improving market conditions.
The chairman of Kakuyuni Farmers Cooperative Society, Richard Makau, said the society had a rich history spanning more than 60 years in coffee production.
He recalled that at its peak, the society produced two million kilogrammes of coffee annually, but output later plummeted to as low as 64,000 kilogrammes.
Makau said production had begun recovering and had surpassed the 100,000-kilogramme mark, raising hopes that the society would eventually return to its former levels.
He welcomed the government’s provision of seedlings, saying the society planned to plant more than 50,000 seedlings before the onset of the rains.
Makau expressed optimism that the revival of coffee farming would create significant economic opportunities for farmers, with some potentially becoming millionaires within five years.
Speaking during the exercise, New KPCU representative Martha Mwai said the union was committed to ensuring that farmers accessed seedlings to expand production.
She said New KPCU was targeting the distribution of 20,000 seedlings by the end of the current financial year, adding that the team had already visited Murang’a and Makueni counties and planned to extend the programme to Embu.
Mwai said the distribution exercise was part of efforts to implement President William Ruto’s directive to increase Kenya’s annual coffee production from 50,000 metric tonnes to 150,000 metric tonnes.
She urged young people to embrace coffee farming, describing it as a profitable agribusiness capable of generating income and improving household food security.
Mwai said increased youth participation in coffee production would help expand the sector and improve farmers’ earnings.
The government, through New KPCU, has intensified the distribution of subsidised seedlings and farm inputs across the country as part of broader reforms aimed at increasing productivity and improving incomes in the coffee subsector.
Kenya currently produces approximately 36,000 metric tonnes of coffee annually from about 119,000 acres of land.
In the Ukambani region, coffee is grown in parts of Machakos County, including Kangundo, Kwa Matingi and Kathiani, as well as in the Mbooni and Kilungu areas of Makueni County.
