Nyeri County to spend Sh17m to support coffee farmers

Nyeri has set aside Sh17 million for the revitalisation of the coffee sector following low production in the last season.

Speaking at the county’s headquarters, Governor Mutahi Kahiga said that the fund will support coffee production activities such as boosting soil fertility by providing lime and other farm inputs.

Data collated by the Agriculture department in the county showed that farmers picked 20 million kilogrammes of cherry compared to 24 million kilos in the previous season.

"The major challenge we have in coffee farming is soil acidity and we are going to correct that by providing lime to our farmers so that they can improve on production," he said.

He further threw his weight behind the Coffee Bill 2020 proposed by the Agriculture CS Peter Munya, saying that if passed, farmers will take good payments home.

"I am certain that farmers will receive over Sh100 per kilo of cherry should the Bill be passed... the farmers will also benefit from good governance in coffee management," he said.

Three kilos per tree

Currently, farmers are picking three kilos of cherry from a single tree whereas they are capable of picking 10 to 30 kilos.

Other factors that have contributed to the decline in coffee production are changing weather patterns and farmers abandoning the crop for other ventures.

Due to factories being marred with corruption and managerial problems, farmers boycotted coffee picking while those who did, sold it at farm gate prices of Sh40 per kilogramme.

"This signals a bad trend for cooperatives because what farmers want is money and they are not getting it in their factories," said Mr James Kagunyo, a farmer from Mukurwe-ini.

Erratic weather conditions made coffee plants not to flower due to the presence of rains, thus preventing the crop from going through the full reproduction cycle. 

"The berries aborted due to the chilly and cold weather hence we did not have much to deliver to the factories," Mr Kagunyo added.

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