Laikipia: Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya has expressed the government's commitment to introducing coffee farming in more regions across the country to revive Kenya's coffee sector, pledging billions in funding and reforms.
According to Kenya News Agency, the CS remarked that the government aims not only to revive but also to introduce coffee farming in new counties deemed suitable for coffee cultivation. Oparanya's comments were made at a sensitization meeting held at Kinamba Trading Centre in Laikipia County, where he was joined by Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu, New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union Managing Director Timothy Mirugi, and other regional leaders.
Oparanya highlighted that this initiative is a three-year program designed to rejuvenate the once-thriving coffee subsector. He stressed that Kenya's coffee production has been on the decline, allowing countries like Ethiopia, Uganda, C´te d'Ivoire, and Tanzania to surpass Kenya in coffee production. However, with the advent of emerging technologies, there is potential to boost production, particularly in new areas identified for coffee cultivation.
'The government has set aside over Sh500 million to promote the crop through coffee seedling provision to smallholder farmers to enhance national coffee production. I can confidently promise you that the market demand is significant, and the country cannot meet it without proper interventions,' Oparanya stated.
Additionally, he assured farmers of the government's support in addressing longstanding debts that have hampered the industry, noting that only genuine debts would be settled by the state. Oparanya also encouraged farmers to utilize the Cherry Fund, which currently amounts to Sh8 billion, to expand their coffee farming efforts.