Coffee the next “OIL”
Ethiopia is the ancestral home of cultivated Arabica coffee with wild Coffea arabica L., being the parental shrub growing naturally in the moist forest. With continuous active selection and breeding activities, many varieties like Batian and Ruiru II in Kenya; have emerged with improved disease and pest tolerance coupled with high yield potential.
Even though coffee consumption has existed for more than 1,000 years, its demand has increased rapidly to being the most consumed drink to water currently with over a 33.33billion cups per month and most traded commodity after oil as per 2017 statistics.
According to 3Rs Kenya, the fast increasing population is the greatest challenge to the agriculture sector and natural resource management and sustainability. It is estimated that each year the population increases by an average of 90 million individuals.
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Coffee sustains over 100 million people globally and is rated among the largest export commodities in the world. Coffea arabica (arabica or highland coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta or lowland coffee) are the main coffee species that are commercially grown, however, 124 coffee species are existing and which have been named to date. Coffee Arabica contributes 70% of produced coffee while Robusta contributes 30% (ICO, 2016). Coffee is currently planted in over 11 million hectares worldwide and spread in over 60 countries in the tropics.
What value does it add to the Kenyan economy?
Kenyan economy depends heavily on agriculture with over 75% of rural livelihood depending on it and about 28% on the national GDP contribution level out of which coffee contributes 0.2%.
The agriculture sector in Kenya utilizes over 70 % of the labour force, giving 25 % of the total national GDP, 60 % total export earnings, over 75 % of raw materials for the industries contributing to 45 % of total government revenue. Coffee is the fifth-largest foreign exchange earner in Kenya after diaspora remittances, tourism, tea and horticulture.
Furthermore, coffee is the mainstay of about 800,000 households most of whom are in the rural areas and hilly terrains. Rural areas are characterized by; high levels of poverty, low income, low education levels and key resources available that needs management.
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It is true to say that, Harmonization of information, data and procedure for improved coffee production is key in the sustainability of coffee production and consistency in the livelihood for coffee value chain dependants. Guided coffee production gives positive results in terms of agricultural production quantities, community nutrition, poverty reduction and environmental management.
Coffee Production
Kenya coffee production is categorized into two systems; namely the estate and smallholder with a total of about 4000 estates and over 800,000 smallholder producers who operate and process their coffees in about 550 cooperative societies.
The cooperative sector comprises smallholders farmers who account for 75% of total acreage with less than half of total production even though this is declining. There is high production in the estate sub-sector due to; increased adoption of technologies demand-driven extension approaches working on it hence utilization of appropriate fertilizers, agrochemicals and water supplementation at the right timing.
Almost five million people depend on coffee for their livelihood along the value chain. These include the nursery operators, growers, agrochemical industry, millers, marketers, transporters, roasters, packers, financial institutions, insurance companies and coffee houses.
Causes of decreasing coffee production
Even though it has such an immense contribution to economic growth, its future is uncertain. Coffee Production in Kenya is continuously declining due to poor wages still paid to farmers compared to the high cost of production. This has made most farmers shift to other enterprises with high returns on investments.
Lack of demand-driven extension services and government subsidies on farm inputs have made it hard for more farmers to have a sustainable increase in their production.
The death of most coffee research institutions in Kenya due to lack of government funding combined with mismanagement and embezzlement of funds in coffee cooperatives is also to blame for the declining production.
Price manipulations in the auction combined with high milling and marketing charges have de-motivated many farmers.
The main question, which we shall look at next is how the economy is adapting to these changes and the way forward.
Reference: Coffee (Coffea arabica & Coffea canephora) Production and Utilization in Kenya
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