More than 2,000 coffee farmers and other players in the sector gathered in Kirinyaga County to mark International Coffee Day, with calls for stronger cooperation to improve production and farmers’ earnings.
The event, held at the Kirinyaga County Cooperative Union Limited, brought together farmers, processors, traders, researchers, regulators, policymakers and non-governmental organisations to discuss ways of strengthening the coffee value chain.
The celebrations were led by the Chairperson of the Coffee Board of Kenya, Henry Kinyua, alongside officials from the Coffee Board, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) Coffee Research Institute (CRI) and Kirinyaga County Government.
Kinyua called for increased coffee production as part of efforts to support the country’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
He urged farmers to join cooperative societies, saying this would help them bargain collectively and strengthen their position in the coffee market.
He also called on extension officers working at the grassroots level to ensure farmers receive the information and support they need to improve production.
Kinyua said the Coffee Board would continue working to promote Kenyan coffee in international markets while supporting efforts to ensure farmers receive fair returns from their produce.
Representing KALRO’s Coffee Research Institute, Deputy Institute Director Tony Maritim said the institute was working to support farmers through research, training and technical advice.
He said KALRO-CRI plays a key role in producing quality coffee planting materials and providing farmers with research-based information to guide them in making decisions on coffee production.
Maritim said the institute was committed to meeting the growing demand for quality coffee seeds and seedlings.
He called for closer cooperation between researchers and other players in the sector, particularly in the production and distribution of planting materials.
The celebrations also had an international dimension, with CRI Director Zachary Kinyua attending an International Coffee Day event in Italy alongside four other institute staff and delegates from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique.
The team was participating in a tour to understand more about coffee as part of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) ACT Coffee program.
International Coffee Day presented a chance for everyone involved to think about the importance of farmers, researchers, workers, industries and consumers in the international coffee industry.
Celebrations were aimed at sustainable coffee production, climate resilience, innovations and better lives for the farmers.
For Kenya’s coffee sector, stakeholders used the occasion to push for closer collaboration as they seek to improve production and strengthen the position of farmers across the value chain.
