Global buyers converge on Nyeri for the coffee expo.

More than 20 buyers will arrive in Nayeri today (Sunday), ahead of their trip to the coffee plantations on Monday, where they will visit Hill Farm coffee estate.

As part of the program, buyers from UAE, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, UK, USA, Germany, Singapore and China will split into two groups on Tuesday and Wednesday to visit 23 coffee factories in the county. Buyers will then visit the coffee laboratories of Dedan Kimathi University to taste their preferred coffee before closing deals with coffee farmers.

Diana Kendi

Diana Kendy, executive member of the Nayeri County Department of Commerce, said this will be the first exposition held with local government. She added that the move was inspired by the ongoing reforms in the coffee sector, which is being led by Vice President Rigati Gachagua. "Buyers will be given the opportunity to purchase at the factory level through the direct sales system, which will enable them to make more money as the strategy eliminates the number of middlemen in the coffee value chain," Kendi told Sunday Standard.

The expo, according to the county spokesperson, will also provide a platform for farmers to communicate with buyers and engage them in the value chain, unlike traditional practices where farmer interaction ends once the produce is delivered to the factory. The county is known for producing coffee varieties such as SL28 and SL34 Arabica, known for their exceptional quality and unique flavor. However, these varieties remain underutilized due to a number of market constraints. The district also faced constraints such as high production costs and a long chain of intermediaries between coffee producers and consumers. As a result, farmers remain poor despite the high prices of coffee from Nayeri in the market. The pilot coffee expo will continue throughout Kenya's mountainous region and then expand across the country to boost farmers' incomes.

The buyers' visit comes just a week after Gachagua arrived back in the country on Tuesday after a ten-day visit to Belgium and Germany where he scouted for coffee markets for farmers. In Brussels, Gachagua struck a deal with Java Coffee to purchase more than 700,000 kilograms of coffee from smallholder farmers, particularly women. In Germany, his meetings with dignitaries will lead to the establishment of warehouses for Kenyan coffee for small and medium roasters.

Last week, Gachagua met with Gersthofen Mayor Michael Worle, who hosted him along with his wife Dorcas Rigati and Kandy MP for Baringo Central constituency. The meeting, he said, was aimed at exploring partnership opportunities between the town of Gersthofen and Kenyan counties under the mutual commonwealth program. "Part of the strategy to strengthen decentralization is to work and learn from advanced counties and cities in Kenya and beyond," he said. Gersthofen is currently working with Kisumu and Baringo counties, a partnership that transforms service delivery into the growth of strong and autonomous local economies. Gachagua said the various successes in the coffee sector will lead farmers to rejoice in increased income once the reforms are fully implemented. Other important improvements in the coffee sector are the return of coffee dealers to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange and the approval of a Kshs 4 billion Coffee Chery fund cabinet to protect coffee farmers from low prices and other aspects. "We are moving in the right direction and soon our farmers who have not enjoyed the fruits of their labor for a long time will start benefiting from the Kenya Kwanzaa government's coffee reform program," the Sunday Standard vice president said. MP Edwin Mugo, whose constituency is one of the biggest coffee producers in the region, praised government for the funds. "Every farmer who sold coffee last season will receive an upfront payment of 80 shillings per kilogram from the fund. That money cannot be recovered," he said. Mugo said they will continue to press for an increase in coffee prices to 150 shillings per kg.