Small-scale coffee farmers in Kenya are enjoying up to six times increase in their earnings in global market thanks to a natural processing technology they have adopted that produces highly sought-after specialty coffee.
The new technology which uses greenhouse to dry high quality red ripe cherries including the skin and pulp has been termed cheaper and produces clean cherries as compared to pulping station that the farmers were using before.
“Under the system, our farmers have managed to reduce cost of production by 40 per cent as the method largely relies on sun and heat in the greenhouses,” said Paul Muhoro, a Director at Crowd Farm Limited, a local coffee dealer.
Using the method farmers have managed to produce specialty coffee leading to more than six and 25 times increase in earnings and production respectively at a time when coffee prices are low in the country for the last one year, he added.
Some of these farmers who are drawn from Rui Ruiru and Kahiraini coffee factories were almost shutting down due to challenges experienced with high cost of production and poor prices.
“We are a happy lot as our clean coffee beans are attracting top prices after we adopted the new technology some few years ago,” said Esther Njambi, one of the small-scale farmers from Kahiraini factory.
In Europe, America and China markets, specialty beans are in high demand and thus paying high returns as compared to beans produced under wet processing.
The coffee farmers export directly to overseas markets through assistance from Crowd Farm Africa, in partnership with the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (NKPCU) and this has directly earned the farmers Sh85 per kg compared to Sh65 per Kg of cherry they delivered four years ago.
According to Timothy Mirugi, the new KPCU Managing Director, the new processing method has worked well for small scale farmers and thus their beans have been highly regarded in the niche markets of American and Europe.
“When coffee is naturally processed, dense and fruity sugars develop within the coffee seed and express themselves when the coffee is roasted. Extra sugars developed within the coffee seed react well to the roasting process, and caramelise in higher quantities than with a washed coffee,” he said.
Mirugi added that this kind of processed beans can attain more than 88 points in the specialty markets and this has succeeded as New KPCU has been linking farmers with the quality players in the markets so that farmers can benefit from their hard work.
“Specialty coffee is in high demand globally, and thus requires local farmers to invest in the latest processing technology and observe good agricultural practices,” said Mirugi.
Greenhouse coffee processing because of temperatures takes 21 days compared to 45 days under wet processing. It is also environmentally friendly as it saves on water usage, labor and electricity.
In this, some 525 Rui Ruiru farmers have increased production from 4,000 kilos 2019 to 101,000 kilos in 2022 and they are now optimistic coffee beans will earn more money in the coming years as the Government continues intensify reforms in the sector by weeding out cartels and easing marketing processes.
According to the recent sector reports, coffee production volumes grew by 50.24 per cent during the crop year 2021/2022 to hit 51,843 tonnes compared to 34,505 recorded a year earlier.
