Trans Nzoia County Urges Farmers to Embrace Coffee Farming to Boost Incomes
Trans Nzoia County’s Agriculture Executive, Phanice Khatundi, has called on residents to take up coffee farming as a way to improve their livelihoods, citing ongoing county investments aimed at strengthening the sector.
Speaking today at a sensitization and capacity-building meeting at the Kitale Museum, Khatundi highlighted the county’s commitment to supporting coffee farmers through various initiatives.
“Our focus is to ensure residents have money in their pockets. Coffee farming is a lucrative venture, and we are providing support to help our farmers increase production and add value to their produce,” she said.
The meeting, organized by the Department of Agriculture in partnership with New Kenya Planters Co-Operative Union and local coffee farmers, focused on the benefits of the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund (CCARF), a government fund designed to boost coffee production.
Khatundi noted that while the county has over 6,000 coffee farmers, only 800 have so far benefited from the fund, a number she said was lower compared to other counties.
“We want more farmers to take advantage of this fund. It will help them scale up production and improve the quality of their coffee,” she emphasized, adding that the fund is critical in ensuring that Trans Nzoia’s coffee farmers compete effectively in the market.
Khatundi reiterated the county’s commitment to improving the coffee value chain, pointing out that a coffee milling machine is set to be installed in Kiminini Sub-county.
“Next financial year, we will allocate more resources to set up additional milling plants in other sub-counties,” she said.
She also outlined several initiatives aimed at supporting farmers, including the distribution of free seedlings and the establishment of coffee nurseries for farmer groups.
“These are steps towards building a sustainable coffee industry in Trans Nzoia,” she added.
Speaking at the same event, Angeline Ndambuki, CCARF’s Operations Manager, urged farmers to apply for the fund, stating that it offers an affordable way to access working capital.
“This fund is tailored to ease the financial burden on small-scale farmers and enable them to invest in quality inputs,” Ndambuki said.
Michael Wanjohi from the Coffee Cherry Advance Fund and Moses Wandwasi, a field officer for Trans Nzoia, echoed these sentiments, calling on farmers to increase their uptake of the fund to enhance their competitiveness.
“Coffee is Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner, and our farmers should capitalize on every opportunity to increase their earnings,” Khatundi added, pledging the county government’s support in assisting farmers to add value to their produce.
Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund (C.C.A.R.F) was established to provide affordable, sustainable and accessible cherry advance to smallholder coffee farmers.
These are farmers with land under coffee not exceeding 20 acres. The fund was further enhanced by the National Government and is currently being disbursed at the following rates as from 20th December 2023.
The meeting brought together coffee stakeholders and was aimed at encouraging more farmers to benefit from the available resources as the county seeks to position coffee as a key driver of economic growth.
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