Coffee farmers have been advised against subdividing their plantations during succession, a move seen as detrimental to productivity and profitability. The Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development has urged farmers to preserve coffee farms as single family entities to ensure sustainable production and better financial returns.
The common practice of fragmenting coffee farms, especially by the older generation during inheritance, has led to significantly reduced yields and declining income. The CS emphasized that there is a limit to how much land can be subdivided without compromising its economic viability. He stressed that farmers should view coffee farming as a family business, and upon inheritance, the farm should be handed over intact. The returns from coffee sales, rather than the land itself, should be distributed among heirs.
“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,” he noted, underlining the importance of maintaining the integrity of farm units. By managing coffee plantations as cohesive entities, families can benefit more from economies of scale and access better markets, inputs, and support services.
The CS also called on the older generation to actively involve the youth in agriculture. Currently, only about 10 percent of young people in Kenya are engaged in the sector. He identified lack of mentorship, limited access to capital, and the perception that agriculture is unappealing as major barriers keeping youth away from farming. Encouraging a mindset shift among both the older and younger generations, the CS urged parents and guardians to take deliberate steps to integrate the youth into farming activities and decision-making.
“We must be futuristic and bravely introduce the youth into agriculture so that they can take over,” he said, warning that failure to do so could leave vital sectors like coffee farming without successors.
While visiting the Gachatha Coffee Factory in Nyeri County, the CS praised the management for their transparent leadership and efforts in upholding accountability in operations. The cooperative, which has been in existence for over 60 years, recently paid its 1,500 farmers a bonus of Sh150 per kilogram of cherry delivered. This payout was highlighted as a positive outcome of proper governance and shared decision-making.
He encouraged other coffee society directors across the country to embrace similar transparency in management, asserting that corruption and leadership wrangles have been significant contributors to the near-collapse of the coffee sector. Going forward, cooperative leaders are expected to engage members in all major decisions, especially those related to the use of cooperative earnings.
“Farmers have a right to know how their money is being spent. What we are looking for in this country is complete transparency,” he said. There must be a visible connection between global coffee prices and the bonuses paid to farmers.
The ministry, he assured, is implementing measures aimed at revitalizing the coffee industry, with a key focus on tripling the country’s production from the current 50,000 metric tonnes to 150,000 metric tonnes annually. This increase would not only help farmers earn more but also restore Kenya’s status as a top global exporter of premium coffee.
“We want to go back to where we were in the 1970s,” he stated. “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. We are earning just a third of what we could be making.
