Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has discouraged coffee farmers from subdividing their coffee plantations into smaller pieces during succession.
Kagwe urged the farmers to hand down their coffee plantations as a single family entity in order to ensure that they maximize the returns from coffee farming. The CS noted that the older generation of farmers tend to fragment their plantations into smaller units, which he said has resulted in reduced yields and lower returns for the farmers.
“This idea of subdividing our coffee or tea plantations to smithereens will really mess up the industry. There is a limit as to how much we can subdivide land. That is why I am appealing to farmers, especially those with smaller coffee plantations, to start considering these farms as a family business so that when leaving an inheritance, the plantation is handed over to your offspring as a unit, and they can subdivide the returns from the sale of cherry amongst themselves,” said Kagwe.
The CS has at the same time urged the older generation of farmers to start grooming the youth to join the agriculture sector. He lamented that only 10 percent of Kenyan youth are engaged in agriculture, with many of them citing lack of mentorship, the unattractiveness of the sector, and lack of access to capital and land as their biggest impediments.
“Let us be futuristic and bravely introduce the youth into agriculture so that they can take over,” said Kagwe.
The CS spoke in Othaya, Nyeri County, while on a tour at the Gachatha Coffee Factory, where he lauded the directors for transparency in the management of the 62-year-old coffee cooperative society. This year, the over 1,500 farmers affiliated with the coffee cooperative earned bonuses at a rate of Sh150 for every kilo of cherry delivered to the factory.
Similarly, the CS urged directors of coffee societies in the country to adopt openness and transparency in their leadership style. While pointing out infighting and corruption as the major causes of the near collapse of the coffee sector, Kagwe said that going forward, cooperative directors must involve farmers in the decision-making process, including how the cooperative is planning to spend earnings from the sale of coffee.
“Farmers have a right to know how their money is being spent by the cooperative. I urge directors and managers of farmers’ cooperatives to show complete transparency in coffee management. What we are looking for in this country is complete transparency, because there must be a link between the price of coffee in the international market and the bonus earned by the farmer. There must be a relationship,” he said.
Kagwe reassured farmers that his ministry is on course to revitalize the coffee sub-sector and help it regain its rating globally as a leading exporter of high-quality coffee for roasters and blenders. The CS said that some of the strategies being employed include extending support to farmers with the aim of increasing their annual production capacity from the current 50,000 metric tonnes of coffee to 150,000 metric tonnes.
“We want to go back to where we were in the 1970s. You can imagine we are only producing 50,000 metric tonnes at a time when the coffee market has the highest prices since the ’70s. This means that we are going to earn only a third of what we would be earning if we were still producing 150,000 metric tonnes,” said the CS.
By Wangari Mwangi
