Strengthening Small Holder Farmer Participation in the Coffee Value Chain (SSFPP)

The project was piloted for one year and later on up scaled as Making Coffee Farming a Worth Business (MCFWB) Project. This project was funded by We Effect.

Output

  • Strengthened KCPA delivering services to her members
  • Enhanced coffee productivity
  • Improved governance of coffee cooperative societies
  • Improved policy framework regulating coffee industry

Project outcome

  • Project staff were recruited
  • The project supported purchase of the project vehicle
  • KCPA staff and board members were trained on good governance, lobby and advocacy
  • An average of 1260 focal persons were trained on good agricultural practices and were used to disseminate skills and knowledge to the other farmers
  • 35 clonal gardens for Ruiru 11 were established within the participating cooperative societies with the aim of improving the supply of coffee planting materials as well as promoting adoption of disease resistant coffee variety
  • The project supported 27 cooperatives to develop their strategic plans.
  • An analysis of policies and laws in the coffee industry to assess their impact on coffee farmers and growth of the industry was undertaken. The study findings informed advocacy initiatives for the Association

Cross cutting issues

Gender mainstreaming:-

The project promoted youth participation by supporting young coffee farmers to develop and implement fast income generating activities that support coffee farming both directly and indirectly. The result was increased income for young coffee farmers and increased membership of young farmers in the cooperative societies.

The project promoted women shareholding and participation in leadership of the cooperative societies and resulted in increased number of women having shareholding in the cooperative societies both jointly with their spouses and individually.

Kenya Coffee Producers Association also developed a gender policy to guide her gender mainstreaming initiatives

Environmental mainstreaming

The project promoted environmental mainstreaming through Sustainable Agricultural Land Management (SALM) model

Key elements of SALM that were implemented included

  • Diversification – 35 demonstration plots were established to demonstrate diversification
  • Water and soil management
  • Coffee tree shade
  • Use of disease resistant coffee varieties – 35 clonal gardens were established to promote disease resistant coffee varieties that are more environmentally friendly.