Bungoma county government has started giving free seedlings to farmers in an ambitious plan to become the biggest producer of coffee in the country.
According to the Agriculture department, the county ranks sixth in coffee production in the country, and wants to top the list by 2022. Coffee farming
Kiambu is currently the largest coffee producer followed by Kirinyaga, Embu, Nyeri and Murang'a counties.
Kisii and Meru counties are ranked seventh and eighth respectively.
Agriculture Chief Executive Mathews Makanda yesterday announced that the county has already distributed one million seedlings to 40 coffee co-operative societies in the region.
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This year, the county plans to distribute another 1.3 million seedlings worth Sh3 million procured from the Coffee Research Institute.
The government had budgeted Sh25 million to buy at least two million seedlings in the next financial year.
“By 2022 we plan to be number one in the country. Currently, we are producing Sh14 million kilogrammes of processed coffee and want to increase this by 10 million kilogrammes annually,” said Makanda.
Deputy Governor Charles Ngome said the county is working with the Agriculture Food Authority on the coffee production plan.
“We are putting in place measures to ensure that coffee cartels don’t exploit our farmers,” said Prof Ngome
