Lower fertiliser prices and improved coffee earnings are easing production costs for farmers in parts of Central Kenya, with growers saying the changes are helping them retain more income from their farms.
Coffee farmer Simon Mungei said the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of fertiliser has fallen from about KSh6,500 to approximately KSh2,500, allowing farmers to buy more inputs with the same amount of money.
He said the lower cost had benefited both his coffee and maize farming, and urged the government to consider further reductions.
“If fertilizer prices reduce further to around KSh1,500, farmers will benefit even more,” Mungei said.
According to Mungei, farmers previously faced high production costs at a time when coffee earnings were low. He said coffee payments that were previously around KSh40 to KSh50 had risen to between KSh100 and KSh130, improving returns for growers.
Richard Wachira Mwangi, a coffee farmer from Mathira Constituency, also said affordable fertiliser had reduced the cost of production.
Mwangi said fertiliser that previously cost between KSh6,000 and KSh7,000 is now available at about KSh2,500.
He called for continued support for farmers through affordable fertiliser and coffee chemicals, while urging authorities to address coffee prices to ensure growers receive better returns.
He said coffee prices had improved to between KSh130 and KSh160, compared with the low prices farmers previously received.
Mwangi said the combination of expensive farm inputs and low coffee prices had placed farmers under financial pressure, making it difficult to invest in their farms.
In Kirinyaga, tea workers are also calling for higher earnings despite an improvement in payments.
Daisy Wanjiru Macharia, a farmer and tea picker from Kabonge, said tea workers are currently earning about KSh15 to KSh16 per kilogramme, up from KSh7 previously.
She said workers would like the rate to rise to at least KSh20 per kilogramme to help them meet household expenses.
Macharia said low daily earnings make it difficult for workers to balance school fees, food and other family needs.
“Even when I get about KSh150, it is hard to divide that money between school fees, food and other household needs,” she said.
Coffee
She urged the government to consider the welfare of both farmers and casual tea workers, arguing that improved earnings for farmers would also create room for better wages for workers.
Meanwhile, Wifenzio Njeru, chairman of Kirurumwe Farmers Cooperative Society Limited in Embu, said changes in the coffee sector had improved the experience of growers.
Njeru said farmers are now receiving payments within about five days after coffee is sold through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, while some societies are also providing advances.
He said coffee prices had improved, with many societies paying more than KSh100 per kilogramme.
Njeru attributed some of the changes to reforms introduced under the Coffee Act of 2023, the return of coffee-sector oversight through the Coffee Board of Kenya and measures targeting commercial marketers and millers accused of frustrating farmers.
He said the price of fertiliser had fallen from about KSh7,500 to KSh2,500 and more recently to about KSh2,000, reducing the cost of maintaining coffee farms.
Njeru said the changes were also creating opportunities for women and young people to participate in coffee farming, including through initiatives such as Women in Coffee and efforts to connect farmers with better markets.
He said farmers had previously struggled with low earnings, delayed payments and limited access to agronomists to advise them on modern farming practices.
According to Njeru, improved coffee earnings and lower input costs are allowing some farmers to spend more on education, healthcare and household needs.
However, farmers and tea workers said continued government intervention on input costs, commodity prices and workers’ earnings would be necessary to sustain the improvements.
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