Ruto pledges more reforms, promises coffee farmers Sh300 per kilo

President William Ruto at the National Launch of Coffee Revival Through Cooperative Societies Programme in Kianyaga, Kirinyaga County. [PCS]

President William Ruto has told coffee farmers that the government plans to increase earnings from the current average of Sh158 per kg to between Sh250 and Sh300 in the coming years.

Ruto said this plan aims at reviving Kenya's struggling coffee sector.

Speaking in Kianyaga, Kirinyaga County, during the launch of a coffee revival programme, Ruto said his administration had already made notable progress in improving returns to farmers but acknowledged that more reforms were needed to make coffee farming profitable again.

President William Ruto at the National Launch of Coffee Revival Through Cooperative Societies Programme in Kianyaga, Kirinyaga County. [PCS]

"When we came to office, one kilogramme of coffee would earn a farmer Sh50, Sh60 or thereabout. But today, let us speak the truth, one kilo earns the farmer much more," Ruto said, adding, "It has increased to Sh120, to Sh130, Sh150 and now Sh158.”

The President said his Kenya Kwanza administration is implementing a comprehensive plan that includes distributing improved coffee seedlings, modernising coffee factories, lowering production costs and opening new international markets for Kenyan coffee.

"This price, in the near future, God willing, will rise to Sh250 per kilo to even Sh300. We have a plan to achieve this,” he said.

President William Ruto at the National Launch of Coffee Revival Through Cooperative Societies Programme in Kianyaga, Kirinyaga County. [PCS]

According to Ruto, farmers must receive the greatest share of benefits from the coffee value chain because they bear the burden of production.

"The reason is that it is the farmer who tills the land, plants the seedlings, cares for the trees and harvests and carries the heaviest weight. He should be the one who benefits the most and not brokers," he said.

The coffee sector has long been one of Kenya's most important foreign exchange earners alongside tea, tourism and horticulture.

However, the industry has faced decades of decline due to poor prices, mismanagement of cooperative societies, delayed payments, high production costs, land subdivision and the influence of middlemen.

Coffee production, which exceeded 130,000 tonnes annually in the late 1980s, has steadily declined to about 50,000 tonnes in recent years. Many farmers abandoned coffee farming in favour of real estate development and alternative crops due to low returns.

The tea sector, Kenya's leading agricultural export earner, has also experienced challenges despite maintaining strong production levels.

Tea farmers have complained about fluctuating global prices, rising input costs and climate-related shocks. Although reforms under the Tea Act have improved governance and farmer representation, producers continue to push for better earnings and value addition.

Ruto said the government intends to triple coffee production from the current 50,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes by 2028 through the adoption of modern technology and the expansion of land under cultivation.

"How will we achieve that? We have new seedlings, new technology and new varieties. We want one tree to produce five kilos and not two as it is now," he said.

The President also said that, as part of the reforms, coffee farmers should be paid within five days of sales, replacing a system in which growers sometimes waited months for their earnings.

"Farmers used to wait for months before being paid. We have now agreed that farmers should receive their money within five days. That is a must; we are not begging anyone," he said.