The United Nations has urged Kenya to scale up value addition in its coffee industry in order to boost farmers’ earnings, generate more export revenues, and create employment opportunities across the supply chain.
Speaking during a stakeholder forum on sustainable agro-industrial development held in Nairobi on Wednesday, Joel Imitira, Policy Support Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said Kenya must shift from exporting raw coffee beans and invest in modern processing, branding, and marketing strategies.
“Kenyan coffee is internationally renowned for its high quality, yet farmers remain trapped in low-income cycles due to limited value addition,” Imitira said. “We encourage Kenya to prioritize investments in processing infrastructure, traceability systems, and direct market access to premium buyers abroad.”
Imitira noted that while Kenya produces less than one percent of the global coffee supply, its specialty-grade Arabica beans are highly sought after. He emphasized that unlocking the full potential of the sector hinges on integrating farmers into the value chain through cooperatives and public-private partnerships that can facilitate roasting, packaging, and retail both locally and internationally.
Tally Einav, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Representative in Kenya, echoed similar sentiments, stressing that value addition aligns with Kenya’s broader industrialization goals under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
“Coffee is not just an export commodity; it is an opportunity for industrial development,” said Einav. “UNIDO is working with Kenyan stakeholders to develop inclusive value chains that empower smallholder farmers, women, and youth, while also enhancing product competitiveness in global markets.”
She said that UNIDO has supported technical training and capacity-building initiatives in coffee-growing counties, aimed at enhancing quality control, branding, and certification. Einav also pointed to the need for improved access to financing and energy solutions to support agro-processing ventures in rural areas.
Data from Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) indicates that coffee exports contributed approximately 30 billion Kenyan shillings (about 230 million U.S. dollars) in 2023, with over 95 percent of the crop exported in raw form. Experts believe that with value addition, these earnings could significantly increase.
The call from the UN agencies comes as Kenya intensifies reforms in its coffee sector, including the recent restructuring of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange and implementation of new marketing regulations aimed at enhancing transparency and farmer returns.
Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture has pledged to work closely with development partners and private investors to establish coffee processing hubs and expand market access, particularly in Asia, the Middle East, and North America.
“Value addition is the future of our coffee industry,” said a senior ministry official at the forum. “We welcome partnerships that will enable us to retain more value locally and uplift the livelihoods of our farmers.”
The three-day forum, attended by government officials, farmer cooperatives, researchers, and international partners, focused on strengthening agro-industrial linkages as a key pathway to economic transformation in Kenya and the wider East African region.