Oparanya touts multi-billion plan to expand coffee farming » Capital News

NYAHURURU, Kenya, Jul 12 — Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, has affirmed the government’s commitment to expanding coffee farming across more regions in the country as part of efforts to revive Kenya’s once-thriving coffee sector, pledging billions in funding and reforms.

Oparanya noted that the government is not only focused on reviving coffee production in traditional regions but also on introducing the crop in new counties identified as having favourable conditions for coffee farming.

He made the remarks at Kinamba trading centre in Laikipia County during a sensitization meeting on the revival of coffee production.

He was accompanied by Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu, New Kenya Cooperative Union Managing Director Timothy Mirugi, and a host of other leaders.

The Cabinet Secretary said the initiative is part of a three-year programme aimed at revitalizing the coffee subsector, whose production has significantly declined in recent years.

This decline has seen Kenya overtaken by countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Tanzania in coffee output.

Oparanya emphasized that with emerging technologies, there is significant potential to increase productivity, especially in new areas where coffee farming is being introduced. He said farmers in these regions stand to benefit greatly.

The government has allocated over Sh500 million to support the crop by providing coffee seedlings to smallholder farmers in a bid to increase national production.

Oparanya assured farmers that market demand remains strong and that without proper interventions, the country may not be able to meet local and international demand.

He also assured farmers of government support in resolving longstanding debts that have crippled the coffee sector, noting that only genuine debts would be settled by the state.

Additionally, he urged farmers to take advantage of the Cherry Fund, which currently stands at Sh8 billion, to expand their farming operations and improve productivity.

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