Abandoning coffee farming for booming real estate worrying

Kiambu Wednesday May 31, 2023

KNA by Steve Biko

Farmers in Kiambu Sub County have cut down on investment in coffee farming owing to the constant fluctuating prices, translating into decreased earnings from their produce.

Kiambu has been for many years on the map as one of the highest producer of coffee in the country, despite the pressure from the real estate.

During the coffee season 2018/2019, the county produced 9.8 million metric tonnes of coffee, the highest in the country then.

Speaking to KNA, Kiambu Sub County Cooperative Officer (SCCO) Abigail Tabu expressed concerns over the booming real estate business, which she noted had become lucrative in Kiambu Sub County, thus taking up acres of space at the expense of coffee farming.

“The attractive and lucrative real estate business has hived off a huge chunk of agricultural land formerly used for coffee farming and this has had a huge impact on the sector,” she said.

Tabu added that the sub county’s proximity to Nairobi has worsened the situation leading to wrestling of agricultural land by many real estate magnets at the expense of the available agricultural ventures.

Farmers, she also explained, have been reluctant to deliver their produce to coffee cooperative societies, citing poor returns and delayed payments, days after investing their time, money and labour. 

Poor marketing of the crop has also led to low motivation among coffee farmers in the sub county, thus forcing them to opt for alternative means to generate income in an effort to cope with current tough economic times.

“Through our extension programmes we are sensitizing famers to convert traditional varieties to new coffee varieties recommended to the sub county’s altitude,” she said.

Tabu noted that the high altitude varieties capable of doing well in the Sub County include SL 28 and SL 34 and now Batian and Ruiru 11, which are resistant to leaf rust and other diseases.

She called on farmers not to uproot the crop from their farms entirely, adding that plans are underway to streamline the coffee sector back to its glorious years.

The ministry of agriculture, Tabu noted has collaborated with the Kiambu County Government to put in place measures to rehabilitate some of the defunct coffee societies to improve the sector and turn around the fortunes.

According to Kiambu Coffee Growers Cooperative Union Director Peter Njogu, the government should continue fighting for farmers by coming up with right policies as well as refrain people from converting agricultural farms into commercial and residential estates.

The Economic Survey 2023 released at the beginning of this month showed agriculture sector recorded mixed performance last year largely due to decreased production in major sub-sectors,

However, Coffee production increased from 34.5thousand tonnes in crop year 2020/21 to 51.9 thousand tonnes in crop year 2021/22, partly due conducive weather conditions in the coffee growing areas and improved crop husbandry.

The Coffee industry earnings also increased from Sh18.6 billion in 2021 to Sh27.3 billion in 2022 following increased quantity of marketed coffee despite lower coffee prices.

In 2021, Kenya Coffee Platform report showed an increase in demand for affordable housing, which had seen coffee farmers sell their farms to invest in real estate.

 Courtesy ; K. N. A