Prof. Paul Chepkwony, the county governor, flagged off the cargo, saying that the proceeds from the sale of the exported coffee will support 9,582 small-scale farmers scattered over Kericho, Bomet, and Nandi counties. He praised efforts to put the National Task Force’s proposals on coffee sub-sector changes into action, saying they had begun to bear fruit.
“The Kipkelion District Coffee Union, in collaboration with the Kericho County Government, played a critical role in identifying this and other potential markets in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Middle East, and several Scandinavian nations,” Prof. Chepkwony stated.
Philip Mason (Agriculture), a member of the Kericho County Executive Committee, urged coffee farmers to continue adopting good agricultural practises in order to reap bountifully as the cash crop’s prices gradually increased, noting that grade AA coffee has easily risen above 400 US dollars per 50 kilogrammes in previous auctions, which he says is a sign of good tidings.
Coffee is Kericho County’s second most important cash crop, after tea, which is primarily grown in Kipkelion West Sub-County, though it is grown in other Sub-Counties as well. Kenya’s coffee sub-sector is a significant foreign exchange earner, generating around USD 230 million yearly and providing a source of income for over 800,000 smallholder coffee producers. It’s also critical to agriculture’s fundamental role in contributing to and realising Kenya Vision 2030 and the government’s big four strategy.
Coffee production in the County, which covers around 2,000 hectares, is progressively rising as more farmers in the coffee zones of Kipkelion West, Belgut, and Bureti adopt the crop for higher farm profits.
