Business Today Interview: Coffee production drops
22nd January, 2018
The once thriving coffee subsector is facing challenges which have led to a decline in coffee production from 130,000 metric tonnes (mt) in 1980s to about 40,000 metric tonnes in 2016/2017 financial year. This decline has mainly occurred in the smallholder farms thereby adversely affecting their incomes and social wellbeing. Paradoxically this decline is been witnessed notwithstanding the high quality of Kenyan coffee that has sustained a high premium value in the international markets. This decline is attributable to complex interrelated factors in long coffee value chain coupled with weak policy and regulation enforcement framework. As a result, his excellency the president, Uhuru Kenyatta appointed the national taskforce on coffee subsector reforms to conduct a rigorous value chain analysis with policy recommendations and implementation plan, which are comprehensively covered in the report of national taskforce on coffee subsector reforms. Joining u now to discuss highlights from that report is the chairman of that taskforce, prof, Joe Kieyah. Professor welcome. Let’s start by painting a picture of the coffee sector and where the rain started beating us.
