Uasin Gishu County launched a new digital platform to modernise its coffee programme and improve support services for farmers.
The Coffee Mkulima Portal (https://mkulima.uasingishu.go.ke/), developed by the County ICT Department, is designed to track coffee seedlings and streamline farmer support. The system replaces manual record-keeping with a GPS-enabled platform that monitors seedlings from the nursery stage through distribution to farmers and ultimately to the field.
County officials say the platform will enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in the county’s growing coffee sector.
Speaking during the launch, Deputy Governor Evans Kapkea said the platform was designed to be practical, accessible and focused on the needs of farmers.
He noted that the portal will provide growers with key information, including soil-zone maps, planting records, rainfall risk alerts, pest and disease hot-spot updates, and market access routes through Geographic Information System (GIS) integration.
Kapkea also announced the start of a three-day training programme for farmers and extension officers to support the adoption of the system. Sub-county Administrators, Ward Administrators and Ward Agricultural Officers will coordinate the training.
A trainer from the Coffee Research Institute commended Governor Dr. Jonathan Bii for championing the use of technology to strengthen the coffee value chain.
The trainer said the portal will help reduce seedling losses, ensure accurate seedling distribution records, enable mapping of farmer locations for e-voucher support, and simplify monitoring and evaluation processes.
The digital platform aligns with ongoing national coffee sector reforms aimed at increasing production from 50,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes by 2029 under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
