My observations on Coffee Farming in my Locality

Now being the coffee season, focus has changed. Priority goes towards harvesting the beans. Generally, harvesting beginnings in September. The warm weather just before the onset of the short rainy season favors the berries. Though it is the co-operatives that dictate the days when farmers can harvest. This is done to ensure that the coffee  delivered on the given days is ample enough to be processed. Currently,  the short rains have intensified. If it becomes too much, the rain will cause some coffee bushes to either become infected or become physically destroyed.

As compared to last year, the yield this year is projected to increase. This is partly due to favorable weather and also because the coffee board of Kenya and the Kenya Planters Association have come up with incentives to encourage the small scale coffee farmers. Majority of them had neglected the crop mainly due to poor pay. But for the last two years, the rates have been increasing thus encouraging them to tender the coffee.

But on the flip side, the inputs required ie fertilizers and fungicides have become expensive. Though generally everything in the Kenyan economy has risen in value, those dealing with the farm inputs tend to inflate the costs. Mainly due to the fat that the farmers are nto informed and also with the release of payment for the coffee and tea, the dealers think that farmers have extra money.