Governor George Natembeya and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui have urged farmers in Trans Nzoia to stop over-relying on maize production and diversify into other crops.
The leaders urged the farmers to grow a high earning cash crop such as coffee.
Trans Nzoia is Kenya’s highest maize producing county.
Speaking at the Kitale ASK grounds during launch of the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund distribution, Natembeya said the global demand for coffee and its attractive prices was a stark contrast to the limitations of maize farming.
“We can still grow maize but now we have other cash crops which are more paying and can quickly help us to turn round many lives by creating wealth and even more jobs for our people,” the governor said.
To empower farmers, the county government has implemented a subsidy programme for seedlings of diverse crops like coffee, tea, banana and macadamia.
The Trans Nzoia government has also secured land for the county's first coffee milling plant, partnering with the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union.
Governor Natembeya appealed to the national government to assist in the installation process through expert support from the Ministry of Cooperatives.
Chelugui echoed the commitment to support coffee farmers across Kenya through the Cherry Fund. He emphasised Kenya Kwanza government's focus on empowering farmers through cooperatives.
"By engaging in the entire coffee value chain, from milling to marketing, cooperatives can break the stranglehold of notorious cartels."
The CS announced a new minimum price for coffee in Trans Nzoia at Sh80 per kilogramme which is an increase from the previous sh20. “This is not a loan, but an advance payment by the government which is a commitment to improve the welfare of our farmers,” he said.
He said the coffee sector was growing stronger, including in counties in the North Rift region. "We are taking the risk. If prices fall below sh80, the government will absorb the difference. If they rise, farmers will receive a bonus," Chelugui said.
Further commitment to the coffee sector came in the form of a Sh25 billion investment from the national government.
Trans Nzoia county executive for agriculture Phanice Naliaka Khatundi outlined the department's efforts to streamline the management of coffee cooperatives and provide financial guidance.
She also mentioned collaboration with coffee stakeholders to support farmers with coffee seedling propagation, citing the Muroki Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Society as an example.