The ongoing agricultural reforms are resulting in higher earnings for farmers, particularly in the tea and coffee subsectors. Small-scale farmers supplying green leaf tea to KTDA-managed factories have seen an improvement in their annual bonus payouts this year. Gacharage Tea Factory from Murang’a County led the list of KTDA-managed factories with the highest bonus payments at a rate of Sh62.80 per kilogram, followed by Mununga at Sh62.65 and Makomboki at Sh62.50. Once fully implemented, the Tea Act is expected to benefit farmers further following the withdrawal of previous court cases.
In the coffee industry, the government is relying on proposed legal amendments contained in the Coffee Bill, 2023, and Cooperatives Bill, 2023, which are currently pending before Parliament, to bring about positive changes. These proposed bills are a result of reforms initiated after extensive discussions with farmers and stakeholders at the Meru Coffee Conference in 2023. This year, the majority of coffee farmers have seen an improvement, with an average earning of Sh100 per kilogram of coffee delivered to their respective factories. The Coffee Bill recommends the re-establishment of the Coffee Board of Kenya to market coffee for farmers, as well as the revival of the Coffee Research Foundation to work on disease-tolerant crop varieties.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture is leading efforts to revive the pyrethrum sector in response to the increasing global market demand. Kenyan pyrethrum, known for its high pyrethrin content, has gained attention in the international market, particularly in the United States. The Ministry is focusing on 14 counties by providing quality seeds and fertilizers to farmers to facilitate the sector’s revival.
Elsewhere, Egerton University, the National Potato Council of Kenya (NPCK), and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KARLO) have intensified a campaign to assist potato farmers in reducing production costs and increasing their incomes. The Kenya Sustainable Potato Initiative (KSPI) Project, aligned with climate-smart innovations and technologies, aims to help farmers mitigate climate change challenges such as drought, floods, diseases, and pests. The project promotes sustainable potato production through the adoption of climate-smart farming practices, good agricultural practices (GAP), the use of certified seeds, and the promotion of climate-smart agricultural technologies and innovations. Supported by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the project has engaged various county governments and state departments to provide financial and technical support.
