A coffee field.[photo/businessdaily]
Kenya’s coffee production has gone down from 130 million tonnes yearly to 40 million with projections that the production could drop lower.
High cost of production, labor and cartels that have being intimidating farmers have played a major role in the decline.
The Council of Governors (CoG) has put the blame on a weak regulatory system for the problems being experienced in the industry whose potential is 300 million tonnes yearly.
This came about when the two-day retreat for governors from coffee growing counties ,Government officers and members of the Coffee Task force was coming to and end.
During a Press address at the end of the retreat in Naivasha, chairman of the CoG Agriculture committee Stephen Sang did mention that they had come to an agreement to immediately take up legal reforms in the sector.
The Nandi governor referred the crop as crucial to the economy and hence the need to bring back the sector that employs thousands of Kenyans.
“We have agreed on various interventions that will be carried out by the national and county governments as we are currently doing badly in terms of production,” he said.
Mr Sang brought out one of the solutions as a three-year subsidy programme that would see the farmers get inputs at affordable prices.