Coffee farmers in Uasin Gishu County have a reason to celebrate after the government announced a major support package aimed at revitalizing the sector.
Speaking during a meeting with New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) members in Eldoret, the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Wycliffe Oparanya unveiled plans to distribute 200 thousand coffee seedlings this year and another 5 million in the next financial year.
Oparanya further affirmed the government's commitment to support the sector in order to restore its glory in terms of increasing production from the current annual 50,000 metric tonnes to 150,000 metric tonnes by 2027.
He noted that neighbouring countries like Uganda and Ethiopia have surpassed Kenya in coffee output, and the government is determined to reclaim the country's former glory in the global coffee market. "The government has future plans to distribute 20 million seedlings and has set aside Sh500 million to boost coffee production," said Oparanya.
