The Nandi County Government has rolled out sweeping reforms in the coffee sector, targeting farmer exploitation, disorder in the value chain, and weak global market positioning of local coffee.
County Executive for Agriculture and Cooperative Development, Dr Kiplimo Arap Lagat, on Sunday announced nine directives covering marketing, licensing, cooperative governance, and compliance with international trade standards.
Among the most significant measures is the outlawing of all cherry trading outside licensed cooperatives and estates, which Dr. Lagat described as a form of theft that robs farmers of their rightful income. Enforcement will be led by County Coffee Inspectors working alongside the National Police Service and Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) officers.
The county has also begun enforcing the Nandi Coffee Nursery Management and Licensing Guidelines (2025), designed to stamp out fake seedlings in the sector. Farmers will now be required to source planting materials exclusively from licensed nurseries and cooperatives.
Dr. Lagat said the reforms are intended to safeguard farmer earnings, strengthen cooperative governance, curb cherry theft, and boost the global competitiveness of Nandi coffee.
Other initiatives include operationalizing the Nandi Coffee Mill (NCM) in Tinderet, establishing SACCOs in all 30 wards to expand access to credit, ensuring compliance with the forthcoming EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR), and launching a Geographical Indication (GI) Roadmap to brand and protect Nandi coffee as a premium global product.
To improve transparency, the county will also publish and update a list of all licensed and compliant sector players.
Local farmers welcomed the measures, terming them a long-awaited lifeline for the troubled sector.
“For years, cherry hawking has robbed us of our hard work. Traders buy our cherries cheaply at night and resell at a profit, while we remain broke. This crackdown is long overdue,” said David Kiptoo, a farmer from Mosoriot.
Esther Chebet, a grower from Aldai, praised the new nursery guidelines, noting, “We have been duped with fake seedlings, leading to low yields. Certified nurseries will give us quality plants and better produce.”
Others expressed optimism about the county’s international branding strategy. “If Nandi coffee is branded and protected internationally, we can finally earn what our product is truly worth,” said Josephat Ngetich, a cooperative member in Tinderet.
The county believes the reforms will set a new benchmark for coffee sector management in Kenya, offering farmers renewed hope of higher incomes, stronger cooperatives, and better access to premium markets.
