The Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund is a game changer for farmers as it will enhance access to inputs, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii has said.
He said it provides a platform for synergy by actors in the coffee value chain who include farmers, policymakers, financial institutions and marketers.
The governor was speaking during the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund sensitisation forum in Eldoret.
“This is a noble event as it provides a platform for our farmers who are either growing or eager to join the lucrative sector and they are here to discuss how the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund will be rolled out to benefit them,” Bii said.
He said Uasin Gishu is a prominent coffee-growing region and the cash crop has been a significant economic driver.
The county annual production stands at 106 metric tonnes.
The governor said it is the responsibility of his administration to ensure farmers get support.
Bii said the fund will help boost production and improve the quality of the produce.
“It is important to note that for a long time, accessing credit and financing has been a challenge for many of our farmers and this fund seeks to bridge the gap by providing cherry advances. My clarion call to our farmers is to embrace diversification to benefit from their produce,” he said.
Bii said his administration has been training farmers and looking for solutions on emerging local and global challenges in the coffee sector.
“My government is aware of a number of challenges affecting the performance of the coffee subsector such as lack of a robust policy, legal and institutional framework, and climate change," he said.
"Despite the challenges, there is a need to diversify from the low-value food crops under rain-fed agriculture to the high-value crops under supplementary irrigation.”
He said the county has been supporting farmers to access coffee seedlings and increasing the acreage under the crop from 83 acres to 1,451 acres eight years on.
Bii said they have also supported farmers in establishing a four-acre coffee nursery at ATC Chebororwa.
He said they have provided 28 motorised coffee pulpers and installed an eco-pulper machine with a capacity of one tonne per hour at Turbo Coffee Farmers’ Co-operative Society.
The governor said his administration plans to expand coffee production by supporting farmers in accessing certified seedlings and appropriate farm inputs.
It will also provide extension services, expand water system to enhance irrigation, adopt the National Coffee Policy and associated regulations, and grow one million coffee seedlings at Chebororwa Agricultural Training Centre.
“We are working closely with development partners to boost the coffee subsector. I commend the efforts put in place by the New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union in upgrading the coffee subsector,” he said.
