The Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU) in collaboration with the Coffee Research Institute (CRI), is sponsoring two youth from every coffee-growing ward for training to serve as coordinators and trainers of farmers.
The New KPCU chairman, Daniel Chemno, says the selected youth are trained on preparation, agronomy, processing, and marketing, and added this will expand grassroots expertise and provide job creation.
Speaking on the sidelines of the East African Coffee Market & Conference in Nairobi, Chemno said the training will further engage the youth and equip them with skills to establish their own coffee farms, become self-employed, and act as trainers for other young people.
Chemno noted that the government is also promoting domestic consumption of coffee and training the youth on barista skills, which involve learning essential skills on espresso extraction, milk steaming, latte art, and machine maintenance in coffeehouse, as well as ensuring they have duty-free coffee shops at airports and mobile ‘coffee-on-go’ initiatives, as well as coffee programs in schools, which will see them empowered and be future coffee growers.
The average age of coffee farmers is advanced, with many studies indicating it’s over 50 or 60 years old in various regions, such as 55 in Kenya, a concern for the industry as fewer young people enter the field.
“The training of coffee champions will see spread of knowledge, provide entrepreneurial skills, and provide access to finance that will boost demand among young consumers and potentially inspire a new generation of farmers,” he said.
He explained that once the youth who are currently undergoing training at CRI are done, they will be going back to their locality and be able to advise farmers on what to do in their farms and thus effectively address the gap of extension services, which has been a challenge, especially now with the services devolved to the counties.
“We have already hired field officers who will now be supervising those two young people in the ward. We expect that there will be a very strong army of experts in coffee who will be assisting our farmers,” Chemno said.
He said the government is aware of the challenge CRI is facing with the production of coffee seeds and is working with 10 universities to develop tissue culture coffee seedlings so that from next year, farmers will be able to access them, and the target is to be producing 20 million seedlings per year.
The government has further set aside Sh500 million for that purpose. And that there are 35 counties that can grow coffee, and KPCU is working on a program with women and youth to support them in joining the industry.
“We need those young people to get positions in cooperatives and we are calling on cooperative leaders to pave the way for them. If you have served 10 years, you have done your best. Allow others, especially the youth, also to serve,” Chemno said.
Nancy Cheruiyot, the Managing Trustee and CEO of the Commodities Fund, that was created to provide accessible and affordable lines of credit to the coffee subsector, said they have subsidized line of credit especially for the women.
“We lend and charge women and youth farmers only 3 per cent credit as special rates, but the maximum rate is usually 7.5 per cent,” she said, adding that the government’s goal is to see that women and youth participate in the coffee sector.
She acknowledged that out of the farmers in coffee, very few are women but noted that through Association of Women in Coffee, they are working to ensure that the women play important roles in their cooperatives and at the same time working with the youth and supporting them in acquiring seedlings.
Cheruiyot said they have been engaging farmers to just apportion their children some portion of land and they in turn provide seedlings to them and they wait to be repaid at the Nairobi Coffee exchange.
“Financing models exist that provide coffee seedlings to young farmers in Kenya, who can then repay the cost from their future coffee sales through the coffee exchange. I urge parents not to give title deeds but just apportion the young people some land and we will give them all the seedlings they need, finance it and make sure they get all the support until they harvest the coffee,” she said.
The government, Cheruiyot said, is planning to allocate sufficient funding for CRI to expand their seed gardens, and there are counties really willing to provide land for CRI to do seed gardens in their counties, such as Uasin-Gishu and Narok, and therefore the future of coffee in the country is bright.
The commodity fund, Cheruiyot said, will leverage technology, and added they are working with a partner to digitize all the records and all the cherries and deliveries in their counties and then be able to follow those cherries all the way to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.
“So far, we have digitized 45 cooperatives in Kericho County and have done also some in Nandi, and in this coming week they will start on Mount Elgon, because we will link our system with every county system.
Some of the youth and women empowerment initiatives that the government is working towards are the Kenya Coffee School x Barista Mtaani EXP Program, which focuses on experiential learning for youth, providing micro-scholarships, and digital credentials, and also the integration of coffee education in training institutions and curriculums that include sustainable farming practices and data collection.
By Wangari Ndirangu
