Coffee
roasting machine boosts farmers’ earnings
Coffee farmers from Mwirua Farmers’
Cooperative Society in Kirinyaga are now making a significant extra coin from
roasted coffee after the county government provided them with value addition
equipment.
coffee roaster, a grinder and a packaging machine that now enables them roast,
package and sell their own coffee to local residents.
society’s Manager said that while the county government provided the value
addition equipment, the society sourced for the requisite licenses and
authorizations from entities such as the National Environmental Management
Authority (NEMA), and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) as well as barcoding
for their product.
roasting its coffee in December 2020 and has so far added value to 130 bags of
coffee adding that the roasted coffee has a guaranteed market from the member
farmers who agreed during their January 2020 annual general meeting that each
one of them will be buying at least 500 grams of roasted coffee. The rest of
the coffee is then sold to local residents through coffee factories and local
shops.
consumption of 20% of their coffee thereby improving the society’s income and
payout to farmers and thereafter gradually introduce the value added coffee to
supermarkets and other outlets in and outside the county.
factories namely; Kariani, Mitondo, Getuya, Gathabi, Kiaragana, Kiambwe,
Rwamuthambi, Riakiania and Ihara.
said that the equipment has been of great help to the farmers as it is enabling
them to add value to lower grades of coffee hence fetching more money for the
farmers. Kinyua thanked Governor Anne Waiguru for enabling the value addition
initiative that is set to turn around the fortunes of each one of the
cooperative society’s members, assuring that eventually their roasted coffee
will be trading in the international market.
the society’s offices earlier, Governor Anne Waiguru said that value addition
is in line with the Big Four Agenda and will go a long way into improving the
farmers’ returns from coffee and also encourage local consumption of coffee.
Waiguru affirmed
that coffee value addition would also create employment for the youth who are operating
the equipment and engaged in various stages of the coffee value chain, a
reality that has now been achieved.
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