In Kenya, the coffee sector hit by climate change

It’s lunch time, Tuesday January 14, in the village of Gatura, a town of a few thousand inhabitants nestled in the mountainous folds of the Aberdere massif, in central Kenya.

Among the Wanyaga, however, the table has not yet been set. The couple are in front of the television in the living room, a long room with walls covered with images of Christ, animals and Manchester United players. The sofas are tired. In the middle, sits an immaculate coffee table. On screen, Mutahi Kagwe, the recently appointed Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, is questioned by MPs on NTV.

From his sofa, Robert Wanyaga, 72, in a light polo shirt, nods his head, visibly satisfied with the words spoken by the new minister: “It gives us coffee producers hope. He says the money should go into the pockets of the farmers and no one else. I trust him. Plus, he’s from our region. » Next to him, his wife Millicent, 61, agrees with what her husband says.

The Wanyaga are coffee producers. Beyond the fence of their garden extends their plantation: some 400 feet of coffee trees planted on the hillsides, close together. “Climate change has hit us hard. Our production has dropped significantlyexplains Mr. Wanyaga. Before 2019, one tree produced 12.5 kg of coffee. The yield dropped to 3 kg. 2024 was a decent year, but I won’t pull more than 7kg per plant. »

From 600 to 400 coffee trees

It’s the same disillusioned observation for Lawrence Wamuya, 45, another producer from Gatura, whose house is two kilometers from that of the Wanyagas. In the garden, laundry placed on a hedge drying in the sun, while a little further away chickens cackle behind their cage.

Sitting on a plastic chair in the shade of the garden’s gigantic mango tree, Mr. Wamuya observes: “The hot seasons and the cold seasons have become more extreme. The variations are more intense now. They have greatly affected coffee culture. Today I produce a quarter of what I had at the end of the 1990s. However, my cultivation practice and techniques have not changed. »

His farm went from 600 to 400 coffee trees. He sighs and indicates with his hand the bottom of the slope on which his crops extend: “We are running out of water. We had a small river that dried up at the end of the 1990s. It never reappeared. »

Nationwide, coffee production fell by almost 70% between the end of the 1980s and the start of the 2020 decade, from 130,000 to 40,000 tonnes. Largely due to climate change. According to a study by the non-governmental organization Fairtrade International, 93% of coffee producers in Kenya, a sector which supports nearly 800,000 households, are now facing its consequences. Fifth African producer, the country exports most of its coffee to Europe.

“Coffee berry disease”

At the end of a red dirt road, at the other end of the village, is the house of 76-year-old Eunice Maina. From the garden courtyard, the blue silhouette of the Aberdare mountains can be seen. Eunice Maina, elegant dress and slightly bleached temples, was a teacher for thirty-six years, most of which here in Gatura. She got to know a good number of the village’s farmers in her classroom when they were just kids.

A producer herself, she owns 400 coffee trees: “A few years ago, I lost my harvest. The very cold climate of June and July and the frost caused what we call “coffee berry disease” on my plants. This had never happened before. » This disease, whose scientific name is Colletotrichum coffeeis a fungus that attacks leaves and berries when they are still green.

“I decided at that time to change varieties and plant more resistant species”explains Eunice Maina. She then planted a few plants of Ruiru 11 and Batian for the first time, two varieties known to be more robust. Coffee berry disease caused by excessively low temperatures affects them little and their yields are good. After the first successful experiment, she will plant other plants of these two species.

Dedan-Kimathi University, in Nyeri, the regional capital, has carried out experiments with grafting these two new species onto old varieties, sensitive to cold but with deep roots. The results were conclusive, making it possible to combine resistance to cold and roots capable of fetching water deep in the earth.

Brutal rains that destroy everything

To cope with the intense heat, from December to March, the Wanyaga people planted banana trees between their coffee plants. These trees, several meters high and with large leaves, act as parasols for the plants located below. Lawrence Wamuya and Eunice Maina consider it necessary today to set up an irrigation system capable of fetching the water necessary for their crops from the groundwater.

“The rains when they fall are brutal and destroy everything now”constate M^me Maina. “The problem is that setting up an irrigation system costs a lot of money and that, without real political will, nothing can be done”judge Lawrence Wamuya in the shade of his mango tree.

A borehole was dug around fifteen years ago, financed by a pesticide supplier, but the latter left and the project never went any further. “Our decision-makers think more about their interests than those of farmers”deplores Mr. Wamuya, who has chosen to diversify his crops to no longer depend only on coffee production. Avocado and macadamia trees were planted on the plot which until twenty years ago only had coffee trees. The two cultures “make it possible to balance coffee losses”.

The Gatura coffee bean processing factory is located at the entrance to the town. On long wooden tables bleached by the sun, the cherries brought by some 400 farmers from around the village slowly dry. “It takes twenty-one sunny days for the grains to dry”specifies Charles Njure, the factory manager, dressed in a laboratory coat and rubber boots. In Gatura, everyone nicknames him « Master » – teacher in Kiswahili language – because he trains and teaches agricultural techniques.

“Obviously the sector faces many challenges. In 2024, we had very heavy rains which seriously disrupted the drying period. The grains could not dry properly. » It happens that heavy rains destroy the drying tables. He begins to dream: “I would like us to be able to build a solar dryer. » This system would allow drying grains to be stored in a warehouse equipped with a roof and a heat redistribution mechanism. This would allow them to dry them even on rainy days.