Kakamega: Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development CS Wycliffe Oparanya has urged farmers in Kakamega County to embrace coffee farming, as a means to transform their livelihoods. Oparanya made the rallying call, when he led several lawmakers from the county in a coffee farming and agronomy sensitization forum at Kongoni in Likuyani Constituency. He said most farmers in Central Kenya were economically empowered because they sold their farm produce through cooperative societies, hence Kakamega farmers should emulate them for better incomes from their farms.
According to Kenya News Agency, the CS stated that his ministry and other stakeholders were undertaking a series of sensitization campaigns across the country to encourage more farmers to embrace coffee farming to uplift their livelihoods. Oparanya emphasized that coffee could be a significant economic game-changer, suggesting that farmers utilize part of their land for coffee alongside maize initially, with the potential to fully t
ransition once they start earning from coffee.
Oparanya highlighted that Kenya’s coffee production had significantly declined over the years, with the country selling only 51,000 tonnes last year compared to Uganda’s 700,000 tonnes. He attributed this decline to a lack of adequate knowledge on coffee farming and the absence of proper cooperative societies to unite farmers. The government is currently implementing reforms in the coffee sector to address these challenges and ensure farmers benefit from their farms.
Likuyani Member of Parliament Innocent Mugabe supported the initiative, noting that coffee farming could revolutionize the region’s economy. He shared insights from a benchmarking tour in Meru, where they observed that many wealthy individuals were farmers. Mugabe committed to working closely with farmers and cooperative societies to ensure the success of coffee farming in the region.
Kakamega Woman Representative Elsie Muhanda and Lurambi lawmaker Titus Khamala pointed out that Western region res
idents have long relied on sugarcane and maize farming, which offer minimal returns. With coffee farming as an alternative, they believe the residents would be economically empowered, with potential earnings of Sh1 million per acre of coffee farm. Muhanda pledged to support registered residents by providing ten free coffee seedlings each.
Other leaders like Khwisero’s Christopher Aseka, Shinyalu’s Fredrick Ikana, Ikolomani’s Bernard Shinali, and Tinderet MP Julius Melly also voiced their support for the coffee initiative. They urged attendees of the sensitization meeting to become ambassadors for coffee farming, highlighting the crop’s profitability compared to other agricultural ventures like sugarcane and tea. Melly shared personal experiences of coffee farming’s profitability as a testament to its potential benefits.