Kiambu Deputy Governor James Nyoro at a past event. He lamented that real estate growth in Kiambu was kicking out coffee farming. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
The County government of Kiambu is seeking to revive coffee farming which is on a decline trend.
Deputy Governor James Nyoro has observed that the massive growth of real estate in the county has negatively affected coffee growing as farmers sell their lands to developers.
"Coffee used to be Kiambu's main cash crop but that is no longer the case. Most small-scale farmers have abandoned farming, leaving developers turn coffee estates into real estate," he said.
The Deputy Governor, speaking in Ruiru on Thursday, said the government through the County Assembly would explore ways of regulating land use to discourage conversion of agricultural land for commercial purposes.
He said they have also set up a task force to interrogate issues that have been ailing the coffee sector.
"We want to protect, revive and improve agriculture which is a major contributor of revenue to our county and country at large," he said
Nyoro, an agricultural economist, added: "We must ensure that all available land which can be used for farming is not turned into concrete estates."