A delegation of coffee farmers and researchers from Colombia toured Nyeri County as part of a follow up to a visit by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to Colombia in September 2023.
The delegation came into the country under the ‘Kenya-Colombia Technical Cooperation on Coffee Value Chain’ which is organized by the Office of the Deputy President.
This delegation which is under the auspices of Colombia National Federation of Coffee Growers, is in the country for five-day tour. They intend to hold a meeting with over 200 local growers drawn from various parts of the country.
The tour is a follow-up of Gachagua’s visit to the South American nation where he pushed for advanced cooperation between the two nations to realize better yields and income for Kenyan coffee farmers.
Receiving the delegation on February 26, 2024, was Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development, Simon Chelugui.
He was flanked by Colombian Ambassador to Kenya Pedro Leon Rui, where they both welcomed the discussions saying they would boost the ties already nurtured by the two nations.
Delegation Welcomed
Chelugui said the government is focused on empowering smallholder coffee farmers since the crop plays a key role in enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Kenya.
Statistics from the national Coffee Directorate indicate that in the 2022/23 season, Kenya exported 47,861 Metric Tonnes with a corresponding value of Sh36.6 billion (USD 251.86 million).
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“The Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) envisions a productive coffee subsector hence committed to increase coffee production from the current annual production from 51,000 metric tones to 200,000 metric tons by year 2027,” said Chelugui.
He reminisced that in the 1980s, coffee was the leading foreign exchange earner for Kenya. The production, he said, deteriorated from a peak of 130,000 tones in 1983/1984 to a low of 34,000 tones in 2020. Last year, he said, the harvest was 51,000 metric tones.
“Over 70 percent of coffee production in our country is carried out by the smallholders, who are organized into cooperatives,” said CS Chelugui.
Ambassador Leon Rui noted that the visit is an important milestone in cementing the relationship between Kenya and Colombia.
He also highlighted that the two countries have been working together and the ties between them remains Colombia’s priority.
“Connection with Colombia is because we have a lot of potential to work together and learn. Coffee is our treasure; the collaboration is part of other common goals we are building in Kenya,” he said.
Colombia Delegation Tours Kenya
On February 27, 2024, members of the delegation toured coffee farms, Gikanda Farmers’ Cooperative Society and Gichatha-ini coffee factory to familiarize with the Kenyan coffee industry on February 27, 2024.
Additionally, the team held a peer-to-peer session with the Kenyan coffee farmers on growing bushes with higher yields, crop fertilization, harvesting, milling, and marketing.
“We are happy to meet the foreign farmers and exchanging ideas on the best practices of coffee farming. We have learnt about good practice of coffee farming,” ” said Stephen Wabwire, a coffee farmer from Trans Nzoia County.
Wabwire further praised the meeting saying that the farmers learnt more about coffee farming such as spacing of one square-meter instead of the normal practice of three square-meter, and the best tree varieties that can increase yields.
Another farmer named Samuel Ruiru Macharia from Nyeri County thanked the government for the reforms in the coffee sector.
Earlier, the delegation toured the New Kenya Planters Coffee Union, Dandora Branch Nairobi, where they were taken through the process of milling, coffee cupping and cataloguing.
Planned Visits
Furthermore, they are also expected to visit Coffee Research Institute and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO).
One of the visiting delegates, Carlos Armando Uribe, the Director of Asuntos Gremiales company based in Colombia, said one channel to increase coffee production in Kenya is for the local farmers to increase the number of trees per hectare.
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He also stated that diligence of each farmer is essential so that the combined harvest of the country retains the optimum quality.
“Commitment is also needed and transparency and Government support. Look for new markets like China, India and UAE,” he advised.
The businessman further advised on enhancing participation of growers in changing the subsector through public elections of the sectoral leaders and Coffee democracy.
“We are a coffee producing family. For our colleagues in Kenya, we can move together. The intention is for all of us to get better, and our families get better economically,” he stated.
The trader added that the two countries are looking to partner, collaborate and share ideas to boost the global trade of coffee.
Natalia Una Valencia, a researcher and head of the Colombia delegation, on the other hand said the trip is intended to help Kenyan farmers increase their production of coffee and sales in the international market.
Gachagua visit
Back in September 2023, Gachagua delivered an inspiring speech during the Coffee Producer and Roaster Forum (CPRF) in Medellin Colombia when he visited the country.
He appealed to the Colombia National Coffee Federation to collaborate with Kenyan farmers to improve yields and returns.
The second in command said Kenya had a lot to learn from the South American nation as it seeks to revive the sector.
“We would like you to help us as we bring back the Coffee Research Foundation as we borrow good lessons from your research capacity in this country,” Gachagua said.
In addition, Gachagua said Kenya has embarked on serious coffee reforms noting that this will create efficient systems for importers who desire to purchase Kenyan coffee.
Gachagua said the government hopes to increase the area under production from 116,000 Hectares to 170,000 Hectares.
It also aims at increasing productivity of coffee from two kilograms of cherry per tree per year to 10 kilograms.
