The Mountain Journal
Thousands of coffee farmers are back on their farms attending to their crops as they apply fertilisers, eyeing increased production in the year 2026/2027.
In most of the coffee-growing counties, only a few farmers have embraced soil testing to assist in the determination of the fertilizers suitable for application based on the advice from the agronomists.
Across the farming areas, the farmers are busy purchasing the farm inputs ahead of the short rains expected at the end of the month.
In Murang’a, the county government distributed free lime to the farmers through their cooperative societies in July and September, focusing on the reduction of the acidity levels in the soils to help in the increased production in the future.
At Kahuhia farmers, Godfrey Kanyiri says the farmers keenly follow the coffee calendar to ensure no one is left behind, at the time of spraying and application of fertiliser.
“ The team work between the farmers have assisted Kahuhia Cooperative Society to be among the leading in Murang’a for years,” said Mr Kanyiri.
At Gatagua Cooperative Society, the Chairman, Chege Irungu said that after the farmers applied for the lime, they are now awaiting the rains before the application of the fertilisers.
“ Already 90 percent of the farmers applied the lime, and farmers are waiting for rain to ensure the fertilisers will not be wasted,” said Mr Chege.
John Chege, an agronomist operating in counties of Murang’a, Nyeri and Kirinyaga said the coffee farmers should utilise the two rainy seasons, while the fertilizer application should follow soil moisture, rainfall patterns, and the coffee crop’s needs.
“Appropriate use of fertilizers and well-decomposed compost manure replenish nutrients removed during harvesting and support long-term soil health,” he said.
The agronomist added that the Kenya Coffee Sustainability Manual recommends applying NPK two weeks after the onset of rains to allow feeder roots to develop and help reduce nutrient losses.
Milka Rotich from Kipkelion Cooperative Society says farmers in the North Rift visited farms in Mathira for benchmarking purposes, as they are interested in producing quantity and quality coffee using the recommendations provided by the experts.
“ In August we visited leading farmers in Nyeri and Kirinyaga and observed the effective use of the recommended fertilizers that assisted in the production of quality coffee,” said Ms Rotich.
