Nyanza farmers asked to resume coffee growing

By NAFTAL MAKORI

Farmers in Nyanza have been urged to embrace coffee production owing to its huge economic potential.

To revive the sub-sector, the Government has put in place strategies aimed at protecting the crop, cushioning the farmer from incurring losses and increasing the country’s world market share.

“Coffee is the fourth largest foreign exchange earner besides tea, tourism and horticulture. The Government has strategies for sustained productivity because over five million people depend on coffee directly or indirectly for their livelihood,” said Isabella Nkonge, Chief Technical and Regulatory Services Manager at Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK).

Most farmers in Kisii and Nyamira counties uprooted their crops and some abandoned their farms when prices went down. However the past decade appeared promising. Nkonge says Gusii region is among other coffee growing zones with huge potential for coffee production.

Mr Hezekiah Nyasamba, a coffee farmer and chairman of Magwagwa FCS, says production has marginally increased over the last five years.

“Farmers who had abandoned the crop are upbeat about better yields and huge profits,” he said.  During CBK’s corporate day this year, Magwagwa, Bisembe and Kenyenya societies were feted for topping Nyanza in terms of quality of coffee production.

To resuscitate the dying sector, Nkonge says the Government had provided Sh5 billion debt waiver to cooperative societies that were once burdened with massive loans.

Experts say besides high cost of inputs and price fluctuations in the global market, climate change has contributed immensely to declined coffee production over the past two decades.

The Batian variety is Coffee Research Foundation’s latest release that is likely to cushion farmers from the high costs of production. It is not susceptible to Coffee Berry Disease and Leaf Rust common among the conventional varieties.

“We encourage farmers to embrace Batian variety because it is proven to be high yielding and fast maturing,” pointed out Joseph Kimemia, CRF’s managing director.

New frontiers

To increase the country’s production, new coffee growing frontiers have been identified. “We have identified the South Rift, North Rift and the Lake Region as new frontiers with potential to produce coffee,” said Kimemia.

Areas traditionally not known for coffee production like Siaya County, Trans Nzoia, Kericho and Narok would soon start to grow the crop, according to Nkonge.

She, however, said efforts to increase production would fail unless the elderly, who arguably control the crop, agree to involve the youth.

Mr Jones Omwenga, Nyamira County Executive Committee member in charge of Trade, Tourism, Industry & Cooperative Development also appealed to farmers in the region to embrace the crop.

“Farmers who had uprooted the crop should replant because coffee is now our black gold and we must give it the attention it deserves,” he said.