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SEEDS OF CHANGE

By Dominic Kirui | Photos by Marco Javier

Efforts to attract Kenyan youth to coffee farming gain momentum.

On a sunny mid-morning at Makwa village in Kenya’s Kiambu County, about 50 kilometers north of Nairobi, Martin Wanyoike tends to his father’s coffee plants with practiced care. The 45-year-old father of three has spent much of his life on this farm, which has sustained his family for decades. Today, he’s joined by his nephew, Brian Ngigi, a 22-year-old university student studying international relations in Nairobi. With a week off from school, Ngigi has come to learn the ropes alongside his uncle, working on the farm established by his grandfather.

Ngigi is interested in farming but uncertain about when or how he’ll be able to do so independently. “Right now, the farm belongs to our grandpa, who is in his 80s… Whenever he earns the proceeds, it will go to his account, then he distributes it to our fathers, and then that’s when it will come to us… I don’t have land, or the money to buy [my own farm],” Ngigi says.

Ngigi’s concerns reflect the challenges facing many young Kenyans who lack access to land and resources for farming. Yet, as more programs encourage young people to enter agriculture, there is a renewed hope that Kenya’s coffee industry can thrive across generations. These efforts are not only about creating jobs — they are about passing down the expertise and passion that has fueled Kenya’s coffee industry for decades.

as more programs encourage young people to enter agriculture, there is a renewed hope that Kenya’s coffee industry can thrive across generations. These efforts are not only about creating jobs — they are about passing down the expertise and passion that has fueled Kenya’s coffee industry for decades.

Wanyoike, who began working on his father’s farm as a child, has seen firsthand how coffee farming has benefited his family. “We have been working here for as long as we can remember, and this is how our father has been able to take us to school,” he says. “Right now, we can comfortably say that the farm has produced four degrees and two PhDs, so we don’t joke with it.”

Kenya has historically produced some of the highest quality Arabica coffees in the world, known for its acidity, intensity, and complexity of flavor. Coffee remains a critical export crop for the country, supporting hundreds of thousands of smallholders and generating significant national export income. The average age of Kenyan coffee farmers is advanced, with over half of them age 60-plus, and increasingly, younger people are not interested in pursuing farming as a livelihood — a situation that poses risks for the sustainability of the coffee industry as an essential sector.

According to Kenya’s Agriculture Ministry, coffee is grown in 33 of the country’s 47 counties by more than 800,000 smallholder farmers and 3,000 estates, with Arabica constituting over 99 percent of production. However, since the 1980s, production has steadily declined by 40 percent, a result of a variety of factors including climate change, rising production costs, poor market infrastructure, lack of investment into new technologies, and an aging workforce.

Against this backdrop, the Kenyan government and a host of organizations are rethinking ways to revive the industry, from reforms at the national level, to other programs, initiatives and investments that will help drive more innovations and youth engagement.

the Kenyan government and a host of organizations are rethinking ways to revive the industry, from reforms at the national level, to other programs, initiatives and investments that will help drive more innovations and youth engagement.

Celestine Kimani Nguri opens the gates to his coffee farm, located in Kiambu County about 55 km northeast of Nairobi.

Kiambu County’s rich red soil and high elevation make it ideal for coffee cultivation.

Smallholder coffee farmers like the Kimanis produce over 70 percent of Kenya’s coffee. They average smallholder farm is about 0.2 to 0.5 hectares.

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, working with non-government organizations through the Coffee Research Foundation (CRF), recently ran a three-year project called Action Re-launch Agriculture and Branding Internationalization of Kenyan coffee in and out of Africa (ARABIKA). The initiative, which ran from July 2021 to December 2024, was the result of a collaboration between the governments of Italy and Kenya and was funded by AICS, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, with a budget of 3 million EUR. The goals of the program were to improve the incomes of smallholder producers and to increase the participation of women and youth in every aspect of the coffee value chain, from farming to marketing. ARABIKA targeted 21 cooperatives with 30,000 associated coffee farmers across seven counties.

“We were largely involved in the training of youth on coffee seedling propagation, pruning of bushes, and routine maintenance,” says a research scientist at the Coffee Research Foundation, discussing the organization’s work with ARABIKA. The project was designed to equip young people with skills in nursery establishment and management, allowing them to participate in coffee farming even without owning land. At the same time, they were able to earn an income. Once trained, participants received seeds from the organization to propagate and sell to farmers.

The project also connected the young farmers with experienced older farmers in their communities who had established coffee farms. Through organized unions in the area, young farmers could apply what they had learned by assisting these older farmers, accruing practical experience and financial support.

Because of the uncertainty around the future of the coffee industry, Gerald Muruu Ngigi works part-time as a bodaboda (motorbike) driver to make ends meet.

Paul Ngigi Muruu, 82, started farming in 1968 on land originally purchased by his father. He began with just 250 trees and has since expanded to 2,000 trees.

Jackson Maina, a 23-year-old participant in the ARABIKA Coffee Project, says the experience helped him transition into a job at Ngenda Coffee Factory after ten months working with local growers. Through this work with elder farmers, he gained valuable knowledge about coffee cultivation, which deepened his appreciation for the field and inspired him to pursue buying his own land. “That was the best opportunity...Right now, I am gaining skills while saving money and will soon set up my own farm both on my father’s land and another one that I will buy,” Maina says.

The CRF research scientist notes that this type of youth involvement is essential, particularly with the growing contingent of aging coffee farm owners who often struggle to keep up with some of the necessary farm management practices. “We also trained [young people] on how to craft existing old coffee plants to make them more productive and resistant to pests and diseases, while also scouting for these in the farms,” he explains. “Additionally, the youth were trained on how to propagate shade tree seedlings because coffee cannot grow alone. So, they sell all these services and the seedlings for money.”

There are other projects on the horizon that similarly capitalize on youth participation and training. Recruitment is currently underway for a national project called the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP), co-funded by the World Bank and the Kenyan government. According to the CRF scientist, the program is recruiting “agri-preneurs,” or individuals who are interested not only in farming but also in innovative ways to add value, improve efficiency, and create profitable, sustainable agricultural businesses. “These are fellows who have left universities and colleges, and we’ll train them in different value chains…Coffee is one of the value chains where they will be engaged.”

Celestine Kimani Nguri, 65, coffee farmer

Alice Kimani, 62, outside her home on the family coffee farm.

Michael Kanyingi works closely with older residents of Kiambu and Muranga Counties, including many farmers, through his organization Mangu Integrated Community Project (MICOP).

In Kagenga village, a few kilometers outside Murang’a Town, 89-year-old David Mwaniki reflects on the role of tradition in land ownership. Sitting outside his farmhouse on a chilly afternoon, listening to a Kikuyu-language radio program, he thinks about the future of his six-acre coffee farm. Like Ngigi’s grandfather, Mwaniki still manages the farm’s earnings, which he distributes among his sons, helping to support his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“According to the Kikuyu culture, and I believe in other communities in this country, you cannot take away a man’s property while he’s still alive. That one, you will be cursed,” Mwaniki says. He explains that, while inheritance customs delay direct ownership for youth, these traditions encourage responsibility and stewardship for the land when the next generation eventually takes over.

Michael Kanyingi, the CEO and founder of the Mang’u Integrated Community Project, which works with the aging community, explains that many older people in his area have a deep attachment to their coffee farms and worry the younger generation might not share their dedication. For many older farmers, this undertaking is a passion project, yet young people have practical concerns and expect to earn a living from it. “Older men are feeling threatened to hand over their farming activities and property to the young people… Some of these older people want to keep that good feeling that my coffee is still there. Coffee farming in this area is…a sort of pet activity. Even if there is no money, they just want to see that they have some coffee,” he says.

Kanyingi adds that, historically, farming wasn’t seen as a high-prestige career, leading young people to pursue urban careers associated with more status. “The same older people were not thinking of farming as a commercial activity or an income generating activity for their children. We have actually put a lot of emphasis on education and white collar jobs. You only get respected as a young man if you are a doctor, an engineer, a banker, and not a farmer,” he explains.

Maina, the ARABIKA project graduate, hopes that more young people can access similar opportunities to gain skills and pursue their dreams of becoming coffee farmers. “I have recommended the project to my friends who have been asking me if they can also join and as I hear, another similar project is coming soon,” Maina says.

As more young Kenyans like Maina explore the potential in coffee farming, and as older generations continue to pass down their knowledge, Kenya’s coffee industry stands at a crossroads. With new generations bringing fresh ideas and energy, alongside the experience of seasoned farmers, there is hope for renewed growth in the sector. This intergenerational partnership could help revitalize Kenya’s coffee industry, providing a pathway to sustain the country’s rich coffee heritage into the future. ●