Kenya allocates Sh2bn for coffee equipment to revive sector

The Kenyan government has committed Sh2 billion to the procurement of coffee pulping machines, part of a broader effort to revitalise the country’s coffee sector.

These machines will be distributed via cooperative societies under the oversight of the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New-KPCU).
Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs, Wycliffe Oparanya, announced that negotiations are underway with Brazilian suppliers, with equipment expected to arrive within two(2) months.

Once a leading coffee producer in Africa, Kenya now ranks fifth.

This initiative is part of the government’s strategy to reverse the sector’s decline and boost national production.

“We are taking deliberate steps to support our farmers so they can increase output,” CS Oparanya said, noting President William Ruto’s goal to triple production from 50,000 to over 150,000 tonnes annually.

To reinforce this plan, the President has also approved Sh500 million in additional funding for coffee development. The government aims to increase productivity per bush from six(6) to at least 10 kilogrammes.

In tandem with equipment procurement, the government has partnered with five(5) universities and the Coffee Research Institute to produce over 20 million seedlings annually.

An initial batch of 200,000 seedlings will be distributed to farmers in Uasin Gishu County.

Farmers will benefit from subsidised fertiliser, with an emphasis on promoting organic alternatives. Oparanya noted that a structured system--similar to those supporting other crops--will be implemented to ensure sustainable coffee production.

The Cherry Advance Revolving Fund is also receiving a funding boost, now surpassing KES 10 billion, to facilitate prompt payments to farmers.

A new centralised payment system, to be rolled out by July 2025 and managed by Co-operative Bank, will streamline transactions. Farmers will earn Sh40 per kilo of coffee delivered to cooperatives, with 80 percent of earnings directly remitted to the grower and 20 percent retained by the cooperative for administrative or community services.

To address youth unemployment, the government will introduce the NYOTA Project, targeting one million young people aged 18–29. Participants will receive entrepreneurship training and startup capital of Sh50,000 each to launch agribusiness ventures.

Mr Oparanya emphasized that youths and women will be key beneficiaries of the upcoming coffee initiatives, particularly through the cooperative framework.