Drive to lift coffee output bears fruit

Coffee farmer Bernard Wambugu, with Rodi Kenya official attending a coffee tree in Kihuyo area in Kieni West, Nyeri County. [Boniface Gikandi, Standard] Education of farmers on the coffee farming improvement programmes has borne fruit in Nyeri County, resulting in higher crop production, from 1.5 kilograms (kg) to five kilos per tree. The farmers affiliated with Kihuyo Coffee Factory in Kieni West Sub-County say they have experienced improved production after adopting agroecology through intensive training on coffee management over the past three years. In the Kihuyo factory, the agronomists initiated strategies to increase production through visiting farms in Nyarugumu, Kihuyo and Njeng'u villages. Rodi Kenya, an organisation formed by farmers who work in groups, has assisted in achieving this objective through increased production per coffee tree and food crop. Bernard Wambugu, a farmer, says that through the training, coffee production on his farm achieved 932.6 kgs in two months, up from 320 kgs harvested in 2022. Wambugu says that from his 300 coffee trees, production per tree has increased from 1.2 kgs to more than 3.5 kgs per tree. "My farming is on the right trajectory as annual production of 320 kgs in 2022 and 2023 has grown tremendously to 932.6 kgs in two months," said Mr Wambugu, a volunteer farmer. "In three years, I have managed to observe organic protocols that have assisted my growth, eye to increase production to five kgs per tree in the next two years," said Wambugu. Coffee farmers being taught on better farming practises in a demonstration plot in Kihuyo area in Kieni West Sub County, in Nyeri County. [Boniface Gikandi, Standard] Rodi Kenya Executive Director Esther Bett affirmed that farmers in Nyeri are enrolled in agroecology programmes in large numbers. Through the conservation of forests supported by the non-governmental organisation, she said 78 biogases have been provided to farmers within the Kihuyo area. "We have partnered with the community in the restoration of the Nyeri Hill, which was dilapidated owing to increased human activities," said Ms Bett. She said the organisation has been working in partnership with the Kenya Prisons Service for years, with the majority of the champions in promoting agroecology being ex-convicts. "The inmates, upon completion of their jail term, turn to train the community on better farming practices in various parts of the country," said Bett. Jane Mwaura says farming education is guided by the agronomists, apart from increased harvest in coffee has also been demonstrated in food crops for the family and sale. "The residents are taken through environmental programmes that have protected the commercial and natural forests," said Mrs Mwaura. In the coffee sector, Joseph Ndung'u, a manager at Kihuyo coffee society, said they have registered increased coffee production, with the majority of the farmers having adopted organic farming practices. He said, owing to the intensive training by agronomists from the organisation, production per tree has increased on average from 1.5 kgs of cherries to 3.5 kgs per tree in the members' farms. "In 2023/2024 production was at 120,000 kgs, 2024/2025 at 412,000 kgs, between October 1 and November 20," said Ndung'u. Production at the factory stands at 105,000 kgs from all the farmers harvested between October 1 to date, with the potential of achieving more than 600,000 kgs in the 2025/2026," said Ndung'u. Coffee Value Chain expert Peter Chege said the farmers are introduced through soil fertility, livestock management, manure application, disease and organic pest control, among others. In three years, 300 farmers have been trained in the villages of Njeng'u, Mainganiro, Kihuyo, Nyarugumu, Mwenji, and Aberdeen. "There are volunteer farmers in each village, who train others in the absence of the experts in their meetings," said Chege. The move comes as the government scales up a new national drive to revive the coffee sector. Through the National Coffee Revival Programme, the State aims to distribute over 20 million certified coffee seedlings to boost production from 51,852 tonnes to 150,000 metric tonnes by 2029, meeting both local and international market demands. Funded to the tune of Sh500 million from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development, the programme seeks to promote sustainable coffee farming. In Laikipia County, once a conflict zone, leaders have embraced coffee cultivation to diversify from traditional crops, particularly in Laikipia West constituency. The New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) has distributed over 38,000 certified coffee seedlings to farmers in Ng'arua and Marmanet cooperative societies. Governor Joshua Irungu and Finance Chief Officer Daniel Ngumi are spearheading the initiative, with New KPCU donating seedlings and urging other stakeholders to support growers.

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