Gachagua to preside over re-opening of Nairobi Coffee Exchange Auction

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will on Tuesday preside over the re-opening of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange Auction.

To be held at Wakulima House, KPCU, Nairobi County, the event will also bring together stakeholders to find solutions ailing the coffee sector.

The Deputy President has led consultations with coffee stakeholders in Mt. Kenya region with an aim of coming up with recommendations to address challenges faced by the coffee farmers in the country that have almost led to its collapse.

At a past event, DP Gachagua said the Kenya Kwanza manifesto has put weight on Agriculture as the backbone of the economy and has expressed willingness to do everything possible to bolster the sector.

He said the reforms will have far-reaching implications that will, among other issues, ensure coffee becomes the leading foreign exchange earner for the country.

Gachagua said the reforms in the coffee sub-sector require high-level interventions from all stakeholders, including the governors for easier implementation.

The coffee stakeholders have called upon the government to ensure that they fight the cartels in the sector and also come up with a way of value addition to the crop.

The Government’s campaign towards coffee reforms has also been called upon to factor in measures on climate change as a key challenge affecting the sector and also factor branding the final product as Kenyan product before selling the same in the international markets.