Race to save country’s black gold

By John Njiraini

Tea and coffee sub-sectors are bracing for changes set to not only reverse the farmers’ fortunes but also put a smile on their faces.

"We are developing strategies to enhance the performance of these two sectors to boost farmers’ earnings," Seno Nyakenyanya, PS in the Ministry Co-operative Development and Marketing told The Standard on Sunday.

This comes after a troubled past where farmers, particularly the more than a million small-scale farmers, have been toiling like slaves only for middlemen, millers, marketers and foreign companies to benefit at their expense.

As recently as October last year, tea or coffee farming was viewed as an unrewarding venture.

The frustrations and despair among farmers had run so deep, forcing some in Central Province to uproot tea bushes and neglect coffee trees.

Last year, the two cash crops earned the country Sh70 billion, a staggering amount compared to Sh52 billion raked in by tourism. Tea continues to dominate the export scene with Sh62 billion in earnings.

But the new chapter in the sectors, which is already being felt, involves empowering farmers and regulatory agencies to streamline the supply chain and eliminate cartels.

Exploiting farmers

Coffee farmers, for instance, would be able to assume charge in the supply chain following the establishment of the Kenya Co-operative Coffee Exporters Ltd, which will act as a marketing agency.

The new entity would not only eliminate the influence of brokers, who have been notorious in exploiting farmers, but would also ensure farmers get a fair return for the crop delivered.

He said the ultimate goal would be creating a structure whereby farmers are paid on the spot after delivering the crop, as it happens in other countries like Colombia.

The new direction that follows a release of Sh300 million owed to coffee farmers and the establishment of a Sh750 million Coffee Development Fund for lending has enabled farmers to redirect their energies to the crop.

changing fortunes

The results are already being felt. According to the Coffee Board of Kenya, this year’s output is expected to increase to 60,000 tonnes compared to 42,000 tonnes last year.

It anticipates that as the reforms take root, production could rise to 100,000 tonnes by 2012, something that could revive memories of the 1970s and 1980s when coffee was regarded as black gold.

This could also be en route to equalling the highest recorded production volume of 128,000 tonnes in 1998.

"During the last two years, the coffee sector has been enjoying relatively good prices and we expect this to continue as the global economic crisis eases," said Mr Henry Kinyua, the chairman of Kenya Coffee Producers Association.

To cap it all, the country is set to launch branded coffee, meaning farmers will earn more from the crop.

Already, some Sh250 million has been set aside to market the branded variety in key markets in Europe.

The wind of change and optimism is also flowing in the tea sub-sector where the stakes are much higher considering the crop is the sole leading foreign exchange earner.

However the strengthening of the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) and addressing disagreements between some 430,000 small-scale farmers and the Kenya Tea Development Agency are having positive impacts.

Outcome of reforms

The implementation of the tea regulations that give the TBK powers to license and regulate tea growers, manufactures, packers, buyers, exporters, importers and warehousemen has brought some sense of order in the sector.

These reforms, coupled by recommendations by a report prepared by a taskforce appointed in 2007 to look into the problems bedevilling the sector, are changing the fortunes of the sector.

"Performance is only being affected by prolonged drought," said TBK Managing Director Sicily Kariuki while launching the outlook for the first half of this year on Thursday.

During this period, the country exported tea worth Sh31 billion compared to Sh26.3 billion earned in the same period last year.

Production however declined by 11 per cent from 157 million kilogrammes to 139 million kilogrammes due to the unfavourable weather.