Two coffee societies in Laikipia earn Sh4.3 million in sales

The decision to introduce coffee farming in some of the bandit-prone areas in Laikipia has started to bear fruit.

Data obtained from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicated that parts of Marmanet, Ng'arua, and Nyahururu produced 103 bags weighing 6,346 kgs that fetched Sh4.3 million at the auction.

Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu said he is committed to making the localities more productive. He wants to transform the former bandit-prone areas into areas that produce coffee, avocado, and piggery that do not attract cattle rustlers. 

The county government launched a transformative process focused at increasing farmers’ incomes, through the distribution of 800 coffee seedlings to farmers in the region.

The governor added that they will establish coffee nurseries in Ndathimi, Oljabet and Githiga, to provide high-quality seedlings, with a target of planting one million coffee trees by 2027.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Behind the story of coffee: Unexpected gift from Africa
• 
  Sustainable coffee goes beyond the farm level to the counter too
• 
  How Kindiki fell into traps that cornered Gachagua
• 
  How government plans to revive coffee farming in Western Kenya

“Ng’arua and Marmanet Coffee Cooperative Societies auctioned grades AA, AB, and Mbuni, and next year farmers will increase production,” said the governor, adding that by 2027, a million seedlings will be distributed to the growers.

NCE CEO Lisper Ndung’u said coffee from Laikipia was bought by Ibero Kenya, C. Dormans, Jabali, and Sodhi.

“We are encouraging more farmers in the localities to focus on coffee farming for higher returns,” said Ms Ndung’u.

Peter Kagiri, a resident of Mukima near Nanyuki town, says the introduction of coffee in Laikipia would assist in empowering the local farmers and venture into high-yielding crops.

Kagiri says coffee was grown in Mukima at Kirimukuyu farm association with the family of the late Mugambi Kimotho in 1980s and employed tens of families.

"Coffee Researchers are duty-bound to explore areas where the coffee can grow to help the farmers enjoy better prices in the market," said Kagiri, a resident of Muramati.