NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 3 — Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina has renewed calls for sweeping reforms in Kenya’s coffee industry, urging the government to scrap the long-standing Coffee Act (Cap 333), which he described as “tyrannical” and a major barrier to fair pricing and farmer empowerment.
In a statement issued Saturday, Ole Kina said the time had come to fully liberalise the coffee sector by dismantling restrictive laws that limit farmers’ and millers’ access to global markets.
“I think it’s time to completely liberate the coffee sector. Torch the tyrannical Coffee Act (Cap 333). Let Mt Kenya farmers and millers sell to ANY buyer, just like tea factories do directly worldwide, unleashing supply and demand for real prices,” Ole Kina said, calling an end to what he termed “neo-colonial nonsense.”
The senator argued that the current legal framework entrenches monopoly control, stifles competition, and suppresses farmer earnings — particularly among smallholder farmers forced to sell through tightly regulated channels.
The Coffee Act (Cap 333), enacted during the colonial era, established a highly centralised system governing coffee production, marketing, and exports.
It created the Coffee Board of Kenya with wide-ranging powers over licensing, milling, marketing, and export of coffee.
The Act prohibits farmers from exporting or selling coffee directly to buyers and must instead transact through the Board or licensed agents.
The law also imposes strict licensing requirements on dealers, brokers, millers, and warehouse operators, with heavy penalties for violations.
Critics, including Ole Kina, say these controls have historically enabled cartels and middlemen to dominate the value chain at the expense of farmers, limiting price discovery and delaying payments.
Ole Kina’s remarks come even as the government rolls out reforms aimed at reviving the struggling sector.
Dismantling cartels
In May 2025, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki announced sweeping changes ahead of the 2025/2026 harvest season, promising to dismantle cartels and boost farmer incomes.
Speaking to more than 12,000 farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kindiki said the government was finalising reforms to ensure the timely supply of subsidised fertiliser, pesticides, and certified seedlings through enhanced funding of the Coffee Research Institute.
He also said licensing protocols had been simplified to eliminate multiple permits across the value chain.
“We have revised licensing to require only one licence per person — whether as a miller, broker, or marketer — to reduce bureaucracy and exploitation,” Kindiki said.
The Deputy President added that Parliament would finalise the Coffee Act, 2025, and the Cooperatives Act, 2025, intended to strengthen governance of coffee factories and cooperative societies.
According to Kindiki, coffee cherry prices have already improved, with farmers earning between Sh110 and Sh150 per kilogram in the most recent season — a sign, he said, that “the return of the coffee boom of old is within sight.”
Further reforms have been outlined by Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, who has urged farmers to take advantage of ongoing programmes to modernise coffee farming.
Speaking in Kilgoris, Narok County, Oparanya said the government aims to increase coffee production from about 51,000 metric tonnes to 151,000 metric tonnes by 2028/2029, and generate Sh100 billion in revenue by 2029.
The strategy includes distributing 20 million seedlings annually, boosting productivity per tree from 2kg to 5kg, improving cooperative governance, and expanding access to global markets.
Emerging coffee-growing regions in Western Kenya, Nyanza, and the Rift Valley are also being targeted for increased investment.
