The Vihiga County has intensified efforts to revive coffee farming through a training and sensitization exercise on geo-mapping and data collection for compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The EUDR framework is critical in safeguarding Kenya’s exports to the European Union, which accounts for 55 per cent of the country’s total coffee sales.
According to the county officials, the initiative will involve mapping of coffee farmers, digitizing their bio-data and developing a centralized database to support growers and exporters in retaining access to the EU market.
Consequently, the county government through the Directorates of Agriculture and Cooperatives has held a sensitization forum that brought together enumerators, Sub-County Agricultural Officers and Coffee Society managers.
The meeting was coordinated by the Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA) Coffee Directorate in collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service.
The County Executive for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Julius Maruja, called on farmers to embrace the registration exercise, saying it will enable them to benefit fully from the ongoing coffee revival programme.
By Rose Wasike
