Kenyan Government Distributes 400,000 Free Robusta Seedlings To Revitalize Coffee Farms In Busia – CoffeeTalk

Kenya’s government has issued 400,000 free coffee robusta seedlings to boost coffee farming and production in Busia County. Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya stated that the move will encourage more farmers to venture into coffee farming and restore the country’s former glory in coffee production. He cited Ethiopia as the leading coffee producing country in Africa with approximately 400,000 metric tons, Uganda as the second, and Uganda as the third.

Oparanya noted that Kenya was a leading country in coffee production since 1963, but the production took a downward trend during the early 1990s. He blamed poor management of farmer cooperatives and unscrupulous brokers within the coffee sector for the decline. The government has come up with new laws to ensure proper management within the coffee sector and is ready to support farmers.

In 2023/2024, Busia County produced 39,580 kgs of coffee, Bungoma 2,362,630 kgs, Kakamega 33,470 kgs, Vihiga 6,600, and Siaya 1500 kgs within the Western Kenya region. The government is committed to establishing coffee milling plants in each of the 33 counties that practice coffee farming within the country. The existing coffee bill will ensure that farmers get their rightful pay, and farmers will be paid within five days instead of waiting for three months.

Oparanya advised farmers to embrace good crop husbandry to harvest as high as 50 kg per coffee plant. Two youth from each of the 35 wards in Busia County will be trained by KPCU on coffee husbandry, after which they will guide farmers on good practices in growing their coffee. He assured local farmers of a ready market through KPCU that will transport the produce to the Nairobi stock exchange.

The government has set aside Sh8 billion as cherry fund to assist small scale farmers with advance payment at the rate of Sh40 per kg delivered to the coffee mill before the coffee is auctioned. He urged the county government to avail at least 100 acres of land that can be set up for the coffee research institute so that robusta coffee research can be done in the county.

Busia County Deputy Governor Arthur Odera confirmed that the county has enough land that can be used to construct a coffee research center and set up a coffee nursery for Busia County to be supplier of the seedlings in the entire region of western. He also urged farmers to plant coffee to benefit more.

Busia Robusta Coffee Growers chairman Leonard Murai lauded the government for the initiative, adding that the seedlings will improve the production of coffee in the county. He said that the coffee price has been increasing compared to when they started, calling on the government to continue supporting them.

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