Government to open Nairobi Coffee Exchange to buyers worldwide
Coffee farmers across the country are set to benefit from better prices, faster payments and direct access to international buyers following plans to hold Kenya’s first-ever online coffee auction which will open the Nairobi Coffee Exchange to the global market.
In a statement posted on the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Agriculture and Livestock Development’s Facebook page, the ministry’s Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe alongside his counterpart from the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development, Wycliffe Oparanya announced that preparations for the digital auction are in the final stages.
The move is not only expected to eliminate middlemen but also enhance transparency and ensure that farmers receive a fair share of their earnings.
“Marketing cannot be done the same way year after year and expect different results; it’s madness,” said Kagwe. “We have agreed that the auction must go online, allowing international buyers to participate directly. Cartels will no longer hold the market hostage. “Technology will deliver transparency and better prices for our farmers,” said CS Kagwe.
Addition to other reforms in the coffee sector
This new initiative forms part of the wider reforms in the coffee sector aimed at restoring Kenya’s position as a global coffee powerhouse. CS Kagwe noted that although Kenya earned Ksh40 billion from coffee last year, this was nearly Ksh60 billion less than its peak earnings in the late 1980s.
To bridge this gap, the government plans to expand coffee acreage, boost productivity per tree from three kilograms to 30 kilograms and deploy agricultural extension officers to support farmers at the grassroots level.
On his part, CS Oparanya noted that the revitalization program aims to triple coffee production from 50,000 metric tonnes to 150,000 metric tonnes within three years. In a bid to achieve this, the ministry, through the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU), has already sensitized farmers in 22 counties and began modernizing over 1,100 cooperative factories. Seedling production is also being scaled up to meet growing demand.
He also noted that the Direct Settlement System (DSS) operated by Cooperative Bank is now fully operational, ensuring that 80 per cent of coffee proceeds go directly to farmers. Over 200 cooperatives have already joined the system despite the ongoing court mediation.
Additionally, he emphasized that the ongoing reforms are anchored in the Cooperatives Bill 2024 and Coffee Bill 2024, which will enhance governance and coordination between national and county governments and strengthen farmer representation.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead, CS Kagwe noted that Kenya will present proposals at the upcoming World Food Forum in Rome advocating for Africa’s coffee markets to operate independently to boost farmer earnings and competitiveness.
“We will not allow selfish interests to sabotage our coffee. The farmer is the future. This time, technology, reforms, and global partnerships must work for them,” he said.
As these reforms continue to take shape, coffee farmers now have a renewed hope for a fair, transparent and profitable future in Kenya’s coffee industry.