a second society in Kirinyaga county to make its own coffee

 

Coffee roasting machine boosts farmers’ earnings

 

Coffee farmers from Mwerua Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga County are now making a significant extra coin from roasted coffee after the county government provided them with value addition equipment.

 

The 14,000-member society received a coffee roaster, a grinder and a packaging machine that now enables them roast, package and sell their own coffee to local residents.

 Mr. George Muthii Karimi society’s Manager said that while the county government provided the value addition equipment, the society sourced for the requisite licenses and authorizations from entities such as the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) as well as barcoding for their product.

 Karimi says the society started from roasting its coffee in December 2020 and has so far added value to 130 bags of coffee adding that the roasted coffee has a guaranteed market from the member farmers who agreed during their January 2020 annual general meeting that each one of them will be buying at least 500 grams of roasted coffee. The rest of the coffee is then sold to local residents through coffee factories and local shops.

“During the AGM in January 2020, members’ agreed that they will be buying 500 grams of roasted coffee, while the rest is sold to locals through factories and shops” said Karimi.

 Their target being to encourage local consumption of 20% of their coffee thereby improving the society’s income and payout to farmers and thereafter gradually introduce the value added coffee to supermarkets and other outlets in and outside the county.

 

The society is comprised of nine coffee factories namely; Kariani, Mitondo, Getuya, Gathambi, Kiaragana, Kiambwe, Rwamuthambi, Riakiania and Ihara.

 

The society’s Chairman, Geoffrey Kinyua said that the equipment has been of great help to the farmers as it is enabling them to add value to lower grades of coffee hence fetching more money for the farmers.

 

Kinyua assured members that eventually their roasted coffee will be trading in the international market. “We expect to field our coffee in the international trading market soon” Kinyua added.

 

During the equipment handover at the society’s offices, Governor Anne Waiguru said that value addition is in line with the Big Four Agenda and will go a long way into improving the farmers’ returns from coffee and also encourage local consumption of coffee.

 

Waiguru affirmed that coffee value addition would also create employment for the youth who are operating the equipment and engaged in various stages of the coffee value chain, a reality that has now been achieved.

”We expect youths who are members of the society to be involved in the running and operating of the machines, creating jobs for our youths” said Waiguru.

 

 

ENDS