New KPCU to recruit 1,000 coffee extension champions
The nationwide programme will train ward-level champions to support farmers, improve yields, expand cooperatives and rehabilitate underperforming coffee farms.
KENYA – Kenya’s New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union PLC (New KPCU) has launched a nationwide recruitment drive for 1,000 Coffee Extension Champions as part of efforts to revive the coffee sector through cooperative societies.
The recruitment is being carried out with the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development under the National Coffee Revival Programme. The Coffee Extension Training Program forms part of a broader campaign to increase Kenya’s coffee production from 51,852 metric tonnes to 151,000 metric tonnes.
The programme will operate at ward level and target passionate, community-rooted individuals. Two positions are available per ward, with one slot for a male applicant and another for a female applicant.
Selected trainees will undergo two weeks of intensive theoretical and practical training. Successful participants will receive a Certificate of Completion jointly issued by New KPCU and the Coffee Research Institute.
The training will be fully sponsored, although trainees will be responsible for their own transport costs during the programme.
After training, Extension Champions will support farmers directly within their wards. Their duties will include providing private extension services, training farmers on Good Agricultural Practices to improve yields, and supporting the rehabilitation of abandoned or underperforming coffee farms.
Champions will also promote quality planting materials, mobilise farmers into cooperatives, and assist with record keeping, crop monitoring and basic farm management.
Trainees will be able to earn income by charging farmers a reasonable service fee. The fee will be agreed at ward level through cooperatives or farmer groups and approved by the Standing County Technical Committee.
Cooperatives will work with champions to streamline fee collection, using digital mobile payments where possible to promote transparency and accountability. Champions have also been encouraged to enter formal service agreements with cooperatives or farmer groups.
Meanwhile, the County Government of Taita Taveta is intensifying efforts to revive coffee farming and improve agricultural productivity and household incomes.
The county is set to receive 68,750 high-yielding, disease-resistant coffee seedlings for free distribution to farmers in Taita, Mwatate and Voi sub-counties. The initiative targets farmers returning to coffee production and those expanding acreage in areas suitable for cultivation.
County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture Katuu Mzenge said the administration is prioritising farmer support and stronger agricultural extension services to ensure farmers receive the technical knowledge needed to establish and manage coffee farms.
Mzenge added that the county will provide technical assistance and work to rehabilitate coffee processing machinery as part of efforts to rebuild the coffee value chain.
“This would ensure farmers receive the technical knowledge required to successfully establish and manage their coffee farms effectively,” he said.
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