In Nyeri and other parts of Central Kenya, dairy and coffee have long supported household incomes.
But both sectors have faced periods of low returns, high production costs and debt, pushing some farmers to diversify into horticulture, avocados and other enterprises.
The farmer says some coffee growers abandoned the crop altogether as they searched for more reliable sources of income.
Government reforms are now attempting to address some of those pressures.
The push to revive coffee
One intervention has been the government’s move to address historical debts in coffee cooperative societies.
In March 2026, the government said an audit had established that Sh6.8 billion of coffee cooperative debts qualified as legitimate claims for settlement.
The government had already set aside Sh2 billion for the first phase of payments, while saying only audited and verified debts would be covered.
For farmers who have carried debts through cooperative societies, such interventions can reduce a burden that has affected investment and production.
But debt relief alone does not solve the wider challenge of making agriculture profitable.
The Karatina farmer says access to financing remains important, particularly for farmers who need capital to invest in livestock, machinery, inputs and expansion.
A farmer tends to her dairy cow in Nyeri County (File: Image)
Cheap credit remains part of the equation
He points to institutions such as the Agricultural Finance Corporation as important sources of agricultural financing.
His argument is straightforward: farming requires capital before it generates income.
A dairy farmer may need to buy livestock, construct housing, invest in feed or install milking equipment.
A coffee farmer must wait for the crop to mature and then depend on the processing and marketing chain.
Affordable credit can therefore determine whether farmers invest – or simply maintain their farms at subsistence level.
The farmer says cheaper loans and sector-specific subsidies could help reduce production costs and make agriculture more attractive, particularly to younger people.
Farming is becoming more technical
One of the changes he sees is the growing involvement of young people.
Rather than viewing farming only as manual work, more farmers are using machinery, silage production and milking equipment to increase efficiency.
That shift is also visible in dairy production, where food safety and traceability are becoming increasingly important.
Kenya’s dairy safety regulations require milk collection centres to test and record milk, including its quantity, source and quality, as part of efforts to protect consumers and strengthen standards across the value chain.
The farmer says proper regulation can therefore protect both sides of the market: producers who need organised systems and consumers who expect safe milk.
The missing link is getting produce to market
For the farmer, however, production is only half the job.
Nyeri farmers can access markets in Nairobi, Isiolo and Nanyuki, but transporting milk, avocados and other perishable products remains a challenge when aggregation and storage infrastructure is inadequate.
That is where the next stage of agricultural investment may matter most.
Growing more produce without enough cold storage, aggregation centres and efficient transport can still leave farmers struggling to get value from their work.
Follow the story
