Global buyers troop to Nyeri for coffee expo

Coffee berries. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

Over 20 buyers will start arriving in Nyeri today (Sunday) before their coffee trips on Monday where they will visit the Hill Farm coffee estate.

In the itinerary, the buyers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, the UK, the US, Germany, Singapore and China, will divide themselves into two groups on Tuesday and Wednesday, to meet the 23 coffee factories in the county.

The buyers will then visit Dedan Kimathi University’s coffee cupping facilities to taste their preferred coffee before entering into agreements with the coffee farmers.

Nyeri County Executive Member for Trade Diana Kendi said this will be the first time the expo was being conducted with the involvement of the devolved unit. She added that the move has been inspired by the ongoing reforms in the coffee sub-sector, which are being spearheaded by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

“The buyers will have a chance to buy the commodity at the factory level through the Direct Sales System which will earn them more money as the strategy removes the number of middlemen in the coffee value chain,” Kendi told The Sunday Standard.

The expo, according to the county official, will also provide farmers with a platform to interact with the buyers as well as involve them in the value chain as opposed to the traditional practices where farmers’ engagements end after delivering their produce at the factory level.

The county is known for producing varieties such as SL28 and high-altitude SL34 Arabica coffee which are known for their exceptional quality and unique flavour profiles.

The varieties are in high demand but have remained underutilised due to market constraints.

The county has also faced constraints such as high cost of production and a long chain of intermediaries between the coffee producers and consumers. Consequently, farmers remain poor despite the high prices Nyeri coffee fetches in the market.

The pilot coffee expo will then be replicated in the entire Mt Kenya region before being rolled out in the country to boost farmers’ earnings.

The visit by the buyers comes barely a week after Gachagua jetted back into the country on Tuesday after a ten-day visit in Belgium and Germany where he sourced coffee markets for the farmers.

In Brussels, Belgium, Gachagua signed a deal with Java Coffee Company that will see the firm purchase over 700,000kgs of coffee from smallholder farmers, in particular women.

In Germany, his top-level engagements will see the establishment of warehouses for Kenyan coffee for small and medium roasters.

“He had numerous engagements with investors who are looking forward to investing in various sectors in the country including manufacturing, renewable energy, tourism, the Blue Economy, research among others,” a statement from the DP office read in part.

Areas of partnership

Last Sunday, Gachagua held talks with the Mayor of Gersthofen Michael Worle who had hosted him together with his wife, Dorcas Rigathi and Baringo Central MP Joshua Kandie.

The meeting, he said, aimed at exploring areas of partnership between Gersthofen City and Kenyan counties under the twinning programme.

“Part of the strategies of strengthening devolution is working and learning from advanced counties and cities within and beyond Kenya,” he said.

Currently, Gersthofen City is working with Kisumu and Baringo counties, a partnership that is transforming service delivery as we grow strong and autonomous economies at the devolved units.

Gachagua said the various unfolding success stories in the coffee sector will see farmers smiling to the banks by the time the reforms are fully implemented.

Other major boosts in the coffee sub-sector include the return of coffee dealers in the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, and the cabinet approval of the Sh4 billion Coffee Chery Fund to cushion coffee farmers from poor prices among other areas.

“We are moving in the right direction and soon, our farmers who have for a long time not enjoyed the fruits of their labour will start reaping benefits of the Kenya Kwanza government coffee reform agenda,” the Deputy President told The Sunday Standard.

 Mathioya MP Edwin Mugo, whose constituency is one of the largest coffee producers in the region praised the government for the funds. “Every farmer, who sold coffee in the last season will receive Sh80 per kilogramme, as an advance from the fund. This money is not refundable,” he said.

Mugo said they will continue with the push to have coffee prices go up to Sh150 per kilo.