Inside issues hurting coffee farming in Bahati

Driving along the Nakuru–Nyahururu road, especially around Kabazi, one cannot miss the sight of coffee plantations that dominate the landscape. The area hosts both smallholder and large-scale coffee farmers.

In Nakuru County, coffee is primarily grown in Subukia, Bahati, and parts of Rongai Sub counties. 

Simon Githiomi Chairperson Juma Tatu Farmers Cooperative Society explains that while many farmers have embraced coffee farming, they continue to face various challenges that affect productivity.

Among the most pressing issues are pests and diseases, particularly mites. 

“Mites attack the leaves, causing them to drop prematurely, which reduces the tree’s photosynthesis and, consequently, lowers both yield and quality,” he says. 

These mites have proven resistant to many pesticides, forcing farmers to spend more money to control them.

Githiomi also highlights the lack of knowledge in agronomic practices among farmers, while emphasizing on the need for sensitization on proper crop management and emerging trends in the coffee sector, which would help farmers unlock the full potential of their harvests. 

“Soil fertility plays a crucial role in coffee farming, and without services like soil testing, many farmers make uninformed decisions, especially regarding fertilizer application,” he adds.

On his part, Simon Kimani, Chairperson Kiremba Cooperative Society, echoes Githiomi’s concerns. He notes that the lack of access to planting fertilizer continues to affect productivity. 

Another major challenge is the absence of a coffee aggregation center in Nakuru, which forces farmers to transport their produce to Nairobi; a costly and time-consuming affair. 

"We would love to have a warehouse in Nakuru. Currently we face insecurity in the storage area and back-breaking transportation cost to Nairobi," Kimani says.

According to him, when incidents occur and farmers call the police, officers often demand payment of around Sh 1,000 per officer to respond, noting that the cost would reduce if there were an aggregation center within Nakuru where the off-taker would pick the coffee from. 

Kimani further notes that the existing coffee drying beds are in a deplorable state, making proper drying of coffee beans a challenge.

The drying beds, he says, have also made farmers end up with less money from their produce as poor drying translates to poor quality of coffee sold to the buyers.

“When the quality of coffee is compromised, the product will also fetch a lower price and that will negatively affect coffee farmers," he says.

The farmers were speaking during a seedling distribution exercise in Kabazi where the county government targets to distribute up to 20, 000 seedlings.