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Waitrose Supply Chain Impact Assessment

Tekangu Cooperative, Kenya February 2013

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Setting the scene... This community impact assessment project was based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (see below), widely used in development. It assessed the impact of the trading relationship between CMS and Tekangu Cooperative (including in its UTZ status) on the communities in Mathira West, Central Kenya.

Supply Chain Impact Assessment: Tekangu Cooperative, Kenya

Coffee Management Services Ltd. (CMS) Tekangu Farmers Cooperative Society

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A Kenya-based coffee company providing services from field support to coffee sourcing.

Works with 130 coffee cooperatives, 183 wet mills, 383 small to medium estates and 15 large estates in Kenya.

Supports cooperatives to get certified, improve their coffee quality and yield, and access new markets.

Obtains the highest prices for its coffee and accounted for 30% of Kenya’s coffee exports in 2011/12.

Supplies quality coffee to Waitrose through United Coffee and the exporter, C. Dorman.

This report draws on both field data and desk research. Field data includes interviews with various stakeholders and field observations. All data fed into our understanding of impact on the five areas (assets) of community life: human, social, financial, natural and physical assets.

Formed in 2005 by merger of 3 Kenyan wet mills: Tegu, Karogoto and Ngunguru. Tekangu is an amalgam of their names.

3,196 smallholder farmers on 3,621 acres of land.

UTZ-certified (in partnership with CMS with funding from Dutch development agency, Solidaridad).

UTZ certification trains farmers in good agricultural practices and record-keeping .

CMS provides access to direct markets.

All these improve Tekangu's coffee quality and yield - and farmer incomes. Source: http://timwendelboe.no/category/kenya/tekangu-drying-table-project/

Field work Tekangu Cooperative is based in Mathira West, a semi-urban town in the Nyeri County of Kenya’s coffee-growing Central Province. Nyeri is located 154km north of Nairobi, on the slopes of Mount Kenya. Mathira West District comprises 8 divisions namely: Gachoero, Hombe, Iruri, Kirimukuyu, Ng’andu, Ngaini, Ngarano and Tumutumu. Tekangu Cooperative serves farmers from only 2 of these divisions: Kirimukuyu and Tumutumu. Economic activity in Mathira West is dominated by agriculture, with coffee contributing up to 60% of local income. The fertile soils, altitude and relatively high annual rainfall mean the region is well suited for the production of high quality coffee. The region is ethnically homogeneous – the Kikuyu people are the largest group – with Christianity the dominant religion. Typical households will farm varying amounts of land and produce coffee, vegetables and fruit, and are increasingly rearing cattle and dairy to augment their incomes.

In February 2013, shortly after the coffee harvest season, our field team of local Kenyan researchers spent 4 days in Kirimukuyu and Tumutumu and interviewed about 30 stakeholders including: CMS workers and management, the audits and certification

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Smallholder coffee farming in Kenya

Various experts report that after the 1988 peak production year, coffee prices crashed by around 50% over the five years following the collapse of the 1989 International Coffee Agreement negotiations (which had previously helped stabilise prices). This had a huge impact on small holder farmers who typically rely on financial returns from one season to fund production costs in the next. The twin pressures of high costs and the price crash led to a sustained period of little or no profits among Kenyan small holders who lacked the means or incentives to invest in the crop. This meant that many coffee crops in Kenya were left untended, further depressing yield and incomes in subsequent years. To further compound matters, the same period saw an increase in the global supply of coffee which outstripped the increase in demand. Coffee prices have remained volatile since then.

This state of things was not helped by cases of poor management, inefficiency, delays in farmer payments and internal disagreement within many farmer cooperative societies. Combined, these factors often led to many farmers abandoning coffee altogether or at least focusing on alternative sources of income.

While the increase in the global supply of coffee outstripped increase in demand from the early 90s, Kenyan coffee maintained its reputation as one of the world’s finest coffees based on its balance of strong flavours, acidity and body. Thus lending itself excellently to the growing niche market in premium coffees – or simply for blending other coffees.

Mathira West, Nyeri District

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Coffee is an important export commodity in Kenya, accounting for 3 – 5% of the country’s export revenues. Over 60% of the coffee grown in Kenya is by small holder farmers – usually organised in cooperatives – the rest are produced by coffee estates. This varies by district. For example in Nyeri District, almost all the coffee is grown by small holder farmers while in Kiambu District, southeast of Nairobi, coffee estates predominate. The average small holder farms about 0.2 hectares of coffee.

Coffee production in Kenya has declined from a high of 128,700Mt in 1988 to only 42,000Mt in 2010. This decline derives from a number of factors which at first glance appear independent but which are in reality, mutually reinforcing. One such factor is an increase in the cost of coffee production. This is in part as a result of the increased use of agro-chemicals like fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides as well as labour costs. This increase in cost was matched by global price volatility.

expert, Tekangu Cooperative management team, local farmers (including both coffee and non-coffee farmers), community leaders and local experts. The local experts were mainly civil servants in the district commissioner’s office covering education, treasury, health and environment while community leaders include the chiefs, representatives of youth and women groups, teachers and religious leaders.

These field interviews are supported by extensive desk research, Partner Africa’s understanding of the realities in rural and semi-urban Kenya (including issues affecting similar communities) and direct field observations by the researchers. Wherever possible, the field data is contrasted with context data from these sources.

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Tekangu coffee supply chain Up until 2006, government regulations required that coffee from small holder farmers be sold via a government-run auction system. This system allowed for transparent price differentiation based on bean quality. However, farmers felt that middlemen in this process eroded their revenues.

Since 2006, farmers can now sell their coffee by direct marketing. This has led to the creation of coffee marketing companies such as CMS who work with small holder farmers through farmer cooperatives to help them access direct markets.

Following the opening up of the Kenyan coffee market to direct marketing, CMS approached Tekangu in 2007 to partner on a project to obtain UTZ certification. The UTZ code of conduct – which covers good agricultural and business practices, environmental criteria and social criteria – offered the prospect of premium coffee prices which could improve members’ incomes. Working with CMS offers Tekangu the additional benefit of access to new markets. CMS also helps train farmers in the UTZ code of conduct which is leading to improvements in the quality and yield of coffee and other crops, as well as in record keeping.

The image above is a simplified illustration of the typical coffee supply chain for the smallholder farmers of the Tekangu Cooperative.

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FINANCIAL ASSETS local economy

The coffee I grow guarantees access to loans that will help me develop my family.

Female farmer

My coffee sells well when it is certified – it has a higher value than the others.

Male farmer

The Mathira West economy is heavily dependent upon farming – employing 95% of the population. Official estimates say that coffee contributes up to 60% of local income and involves 86% of the population.

Other economic activities contributing to local incomes are waged employment (e.g. factory work), rural entrepreneurship (including transport, tailoring, food and snack kiosks) and other unspecified sectors.

Due to coffee’s central role in the local economy, it has an obvious knock-on effect on other sectors of the economy (i.e. any improvement in coffee incomes leads to overall improvement in other sectors).

The Tekangu Cooperative sold 1,500 tonnes of coffee cherries in 2011/12. This generated c. £710K for small holder farmers based on volume of coffee cherries produced. An additional £180K from coffee sales was retained by Tekangu for the running of the cooperative.

A lot of this total amount from coffee sales of c. £890K went back into circulation in the local economy.

Additional income to the cooperative comes from occasional customer donations (e.g. Norwegian coffee roasters, Tim Wendelboe, donated coffee drying tables to Tekangu in 2010).

The main outgoings of the Tekangu Cooperative are: farm inputs, payment of wages of cooperative staff and labourers at their 3 wet mills, payment of taxes and utilities bills, maintenance costs, costs of farmer training and investment in capital infrastructure.

Community leaders said that farmers are diversifying their farming and income streams to provide greater food security and financial stability. A youth representative said that new income streams include dairy farming which provides opportunities for

additional income for young people who collect, transport and deliver milk using boda bodas (bicycle or motorcycle taxis).

Women farmers often face obstacles securing finance against their land because title deeds for most farms are held by men. Women representatives say they manage this disadvantage by creating their own finance scheme. Through

their “merry-go-round” system, participants deposit small amounts of money and draw lots to determine the order in which they receive loans from the pool of money to invest in business.

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Local economic activities include food stalls and motorcycle taxis (boda bodas) transporting passengers

as well as farm produce, like milk.

Source: http://farmershelpingfarmers2007.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/boda-

bodas-motorcycle-taxis.html

Source: http://mashavu3.wordpress.com/page/7/

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FINANCIAL ASSETS household income

Smallholder farmers typically grow coffee on an average of half an acre of land (0.2 hectares). Land farmed for coffee varies by farmer and is directly linked to ratio of household income from coffee.

Ratio of household income from coffee varies from as little as 5% to as high as 100%. The higher the ratio, the more likely the farmer considers it a business and invests in farm input and labour.

Income from coffee comes in annually – up to 3 months after harvest. Tekangu farmers sold a total of 1,500 tons of coffee cherries in 2011/12 at an average of KSh62 per kg. This translates into a statistical average earning of about KSh30K (c. £225) per farmer household in 2011/12.

In reality of course, farmer incomes vary widely based on land farmed and crop yield.

Farmer household outgoings include farm inputs (agro-chemicals, labour), food, school fees and medicine.

Other household income sources include: cattle/dairy farming, fruit and vegetable farming (e.g. bananas, beans, maize, peas, potatoes), remittances.

According to local experts, these non-coffee sources bring in between KSh1,200 and KSh2,200 per month.

Our field team estimates the monthly household living costs to be KSh7,700 (c. £60) – including farm costs.

All farmers interviewed said their incomes from coffee have improved since the project with CMS. They attribute this in part to new skills which have improved the quality and yield of their coffee.

They also report that increased prices negotiated by Tekangu management and from new markets enabled by CMS also contributed to improved incomes.

Farmers see the link between obtaining UTZ and other certifications and higher coffee prices, although they are not aware of costs of certification, which are covered at the cooperative level.

However, farmers remain concerned about their financial security. Average coffee income for smallholder farmers in 2011/12 was well below our estimate for local living costs.

Farmers and experts complain about price volatility and weather changes which make coffee incomes uncertain from one year to the other.

The rising cost of living (including the cost of farm inputs) was also noted as an issue.

The local treasury office reported that the state monthly minimum wage for farm workers range from KSh4,250 (c. £32) for unskilled labourers to KSh7,500 (c. £58) for a farm foreman. Unskilled work is irregular and can be for only 40 days a year on smallholder farms (mainly during harvest).

Farm foremen usually work on coffee estates only. Their minimum wage is equal to our estimated living wage.

Members of Tekangu Cooperative can access credit to pay for farm inputs and other loans (e.g. school fees) through an arrangement with the Cooperative Bank facilitated by the cooperative management. Interviewed farmers said that they were able to save some money in the bank for future spend on agricultural

inputs and their children’s education.

The field team’s observation is that many of the farmers appeared not to have sufficient financial literacy to assess the returns from investing in coffee as a business. Many farmers view coffee farming as part

of the community’s lifestyle or culture and not a business. Therefore, many have not been able to assess how investing upfront in farm inputs and improved practices would reap economic rewards in the long term.

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HUMAN ASSETS education, capabilities and skills

SKILLS: FARMER CAPABILITIES & TRAINING

In addition to the train-the-trainer model, all farmers are also trained throughout the year under the UTZ scheme. Two additional training programmes were conducted by

the Ministry of Agriculture in late 2011 and early 2012. These trainings addressed gender integration and youth

involvement in agriculture.

Tekangu Cooperative also employs a full-time agronomist who makes regular visits to farmers to offer advice on both coffee and other crops.

EDUCATION The value of education is clearly recognised in Mathira West and this is one of the main things

the community members are proud of. The Mathira West District Education Office reports a high adult literacy rate (87%). Children begin primary school at the age of 6 and complete 8 grades before moving into secondary

education. Around 90% of children register for primary school education in the local community. 80% of all children in the community complete their primary education.

Primary school education is free in Kenya (since 2003) but families pay for text books and uniforms totalling an average of around KSh500 (£4) per month.

Around 80% of local children enrol in secondary schools and 70% complete secondary education.

The Tekangu cooperative offers loans to farmers to help cover the cost of education. This has helped keep more children on in secondary school.

The community’s appreciation of education also means that many

expect their most productive years to be spent in the cities – away from

coffee farming. Our girls are more determined to complete secondary school than the boys.

Female community leader

Pupils complete 4 grades of secondary school. Most graduate between ages 18 and 20.

Girls are expected to get married at 19 and boys in mid-20s. This allows time to complete secondary education.

Reasons cited for children not completing secondary education include boys dropping out of their own accord to get jobs and girls dropping out if they get pregnant.

SKILLS: FARMER CAPABILITIES & TRAINING

Tekangu farmers receive good agricultural practice training to help them improve coffee yield and quality. Farmer training covers: safe and effective use of pesticides and fertilisers, managing crop

diseases, weeding and pruning, record-keeping and farm management skills. Farmers also learn how to diversify the crops they grow to cover both cash and subsistence

purposes (e.g. dairy farming, aquaculture, horticulture for the local market etc).

Initial training programme started in 2007 with Solidaridad funding – secured by CMS. 76 chosen promoter farmers were given annual training and expected to support

neighbouring farms with advice. This approach has proved popular and shown early success.

Source: Project field photographs

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HUMAN ASSETS health

All community members have access to our health facilities because of our good roads and the location of our hospitals.

Health worker

The community dispensary and laboratory

offering a range of health services including

maternity care, HIV prevention and counselling. Source: Project field photographs

HEALTH All stakeholders describe the community’s health levels as moderate to good.

The local health infrastructure is strong and all farmers interviewed said they have good access to facilities.

The most prevalent diseases of the elderly are diabetes and high blood pressure. Diabetes patients are given medication – subsidised by the government – and weekly peer meetings which include training on nutrition.

A community leader said that even with the subsidy, ongoing diabetes treatment is expensive for most.

HIV/Aids is the biggest health risk among the young in the community. The Ministry of Health is addressing this through voluntary testing and counselling points.

A health expert at the District Commissioner’s office reported a 3% drop in new HIV infections over the past 5 years due to government awareness campaigns.

Other health issues in the community are common colds and upper respiratory tract infections, chigoe infections (parasitic fleas), arthritis and tuberculosis.

Vaccinations are provided in the local health facilities for: measles, Hepatitis B, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio and meningitis.

According to the health expert, subsidised medicines and laboratory tests are provided by government and religious missions. Expectant mothers, the elderly and children under 5 receive free medical consultations

We did not find evidence that the Tekangu Cooperative currently has any community health priorities. This may be because the community considers the current government and voluntary sector response to health issues as adequate.

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The Tekangu cooperative comprises farmers from the Kirimukuyu and Tumutumu communities in Mathira West district. It is one of 3 different farmer cooperatives. Tekangu members number about 3,200. Farmers are free to join as many cooperatives as they wish. The communities are ethnically and religiously homogeneous. All are ethnic Kikuyus, a major ethnic group in Kenya. Any other ethnic groups present in the

community would likely be through inter-marriage. The communities comprise largely Christian populations.

The community is stable with few cases of social unrest or community tensions – in part due to the community’s homogeneity which minimises the risk of identity-based conflicts, but also due to effective leadership systems.

The community leadership structure comprises the village chiefs (civil servants chosen from the region) who work with an inner circle that includes village elders, religious leaders and representatives of youth and women groups. Most community leaders grow coffee and some are also part of Tekangu. Community leaders escalate issues or concerns to the local chiefs. Community members can also escalate concerns directly through a community telephone helpline.

The chiefs, in council with community leaders, convene quarterly community meetings called Barazas where all community members may attend and contribute.

Community members say the role of their village leadership is to foster security and stability within the community. Most trust their chief and representatives.

Some leaders of the Tekangu cooperative concurrently hold community leadership positions. They are clear that their roles in both bodies are distinct.

Kirimukuyu and Tumutumu communities have a well-established relationship with local authorities and ministries of the central government. The communities’ main point of contact with the government is through the local chiefs who are well integrated into the communities and report to the district

commissioner. The chiefs work hand-in-hand with the community leadership and represent them with the government.

Individual community members do not pay any direct income taxes but cooperative members pay a levy equivalent to 20% of their coffee proceeds, part of which funds the cooperative’s taxes.

We asked, “What are your community’s strengths of which you are most proud?” They said: “our commitment to education”, “safety in the community” and “community cohesion – especially in solving problems”.

The main social problems are: alcohol abuse and petty crimes (e.g. muggings). Respondents say that these arise from “idleness and youth unemployment”.

SOCIAL ASSETS community leadership and participation

Source: http://ndhiwamaarifacentre.blogspot.co.uk/2012_05_01_archive.html

Source: http://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/research/current/steps-to-progress-

and-development.html

“We are most proud of our community's commitment

to education”.

Most consistent response from field interview

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90% of villagers grow coffee as well as other crops. For some farmers in the community, coffee is the highest household income earner. For many more however, it is just one of a number of income sources”. Entire families tend to be involved in growing coffee. There seems to be a division of labour along gender lines. Traditionally, men make the decisions around

coffee crops and are responsible for sales, while women tend and harvest the crops.

The average age of smallholder coffee farmers in the Tekangu cooperative is 57 – and increasing every year.

According to farmers, some families give their children coffee bushes to manage as a way of getting them involved in the trade but many of the children “are not interested”.

All respondents shared that their career aspirations for their children was to become doctors, pilots, engineers etc. No one aspired to be a coffee farmer.

Lack of interest in coffee by youth, increasing commitment to education, fluctuating returns from coffee and social trends (like migrating to urban areas) mean that few young people stay and take on coffee cultivation after their parents.

The community is happy with Tekangu Cooperative and has confidence in the cooperative’s leadership. Farmers report cordial relationships between members and non-members of Tekangu Cooperative. Leaders say that all community members are directly or indirectly involved with Tekangu (e.g. through relatives) and this helps with community cohesion.

Villagers say that Tekangu support the community’s development and take the lead in key community projects.

Members of Tekangu understand how decisions are made in the cooperative – they attend AGMs where they elect leaders and vote on decisions. They are happy that the cooperative considers their views.

Tekangu recognises the threat posed by the decline in young coffee farmers and actively encourages young people to take leadership positions in the cooperative.

Most community members want coffee to remain an important part of local community life and economy but its future is no longer taken for granted. Respondents shared their views on how to ensure coffee has a future in their community: Community chief: “The biggest challenges are price changes and changing weather conditions. As long as there is a strong market and good prices, coffee will be

sustainable, otherwise most farmers will abandon the crop”.

Farmer: “Coffee is reliable but it only has a future here if the young can be encouraged to take it up. Our young people go to cities for jobs leaving nobody to take over from the elderly farmers”.

Women’s group leader: “Coffee has a bright future only if we as the elderly members of the community leave a good farming legacy to our children”.

Education levels are high here. But our youth get an education and run away to the cities.

Community member

Coffee will have a future here if the cooperative can identify strategies for engaging the youth.

Youth representative

Most community members wish their children to become

doctors, pilots, engineers – not coffee

farmers.

SOCIAL ASSETS the community and coffee cultivation

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All interviewees (farmers, community members and leaders) were unanimously positive about the state of the local public infrastructure. Local roads have been undergoing repairs and there are 3 road networks running through the community. All roads are being improved by the government.

Community leaders also reported that they have an adequate number of schools, health centres, good access to water and good mobile phone and internet services. Phones are used for communicating as well as for financial transactions.

According to community leaders, access to grid electricity has been improving since it was raised at community meetings – “more than 60% of the community now has access”.

Tekangu Cooperative buying centres have been connected to the electricity grid in the past 2 years. There is ongoing work to improve its access roads. This came about as a result of Tekangu and the local community leadership working together to engage with the local authorities.

Frequent meetings with community leaders with access to the regional administration enables the community to communicate their infrastructure needs.

Farmer households get water through a mix of communal water harvesting projects, piped water, wells, streams and rivers. Community leaders say that this water is usually treated with chlorine before use.

Other household infrastructure include: wood fuel stoves for cooking, pit latrines and septic tanks for sanitation, grid electricity for a majority but not all. Household assets include refrigerators, bicycles, some motorcycles (owned or rented) and entertainment units like TVs or CD players etc.

According to community leaders, the youth use their phones to access Facebook or for chatting with friends (e.g. using instant messenger service).

PHYSICAL ASSETS infrastructure and technology (housing, transportation links, electricity, other amenities)

Source: Project field photographs One of the Tekangu Cooperative buying centres

where farmers bring their coffee cherries after

harvesting.

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Roads works in the local community, funded by the Government of Kenya

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NATURAL ASSETS local environment

LOCAL ENVIRONMENT Farmers in the local community reported their concern over changing weather patterns and its impact on coffee farming.

Environmental experts (including from the District Commissioner’s office) say that potential negative impacts of coffee farming and processing include: Improper or excessive use of agrochemicals (e.g. pesticides, fertilisers etc);

Farming close to rivers (which exacerbates run-off of agrochemicals into water bodies);

Over-abstraction of community water (for example in coffee wet mills and potentially for irrigation if drought continues);

Poor treatment of used water from wet mills before release;

Soil erosion;

Poor management of solid wastes.

CMS reported that since 2007, they have conducted one Environmental Impact Assessment of coffee farming on the local environment and found no major concerns.

Other local environmental concerns (not directly related to coffee) highlighted by farmers, community leaders and environment experts include: Poor community waste management (including plastic waste) – currently the community manages waste by burning and composting.

Land conversion from agriculture to commercial use as well as road construction/expansion.

Loss of tree cover (partly as a result of the community’s reliance on wood for fuel). Experts say that the government is addressing this through regulation.

There is an increasing awareness among farmers on the potential environmental impact of coffee farming as well as what they can do to reduce this. Environmental training is included in the UTZ certification process and awareness is also provided by the National Environment Management Authority. Training and awareness programmes cover: composting, waste management, proper use of agrochemicals, maintaining buffer zones between coffee farms and water

bodies, tree planting etc.

The climate has changed a lot. Seasons of rains have changed and we are getting concerned. This was meant to be a dry season but it rained in December and part of January.

Women’s group leader

The communities’ environmental priorities should be: protecting water sources by creating run-off buffer zones between farms and rivers and avoiding over-abstraction of water.

Local environment expert

Farmers don’t currently irrigate their farms, but if the current weather patterns persist, they may start irrigating. This would put a lot of pressure on the local water supply. We need to monitor this.

Environment authority

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NATURAL ASSETS coffee

COFFEE Coffee varieties SL34 and SL28 make up 90% of Tekangu’s coffee

production. Ruiru 11 and Baltian varieties make up 10%. SL34 and SL28 are the indigenous coffee varieties in Kenya and produce

a distinctly Kenyan coffee flavour and taste profile.

However they are not as disease-resistant as Ruiru 11 – which lacks this distinctive taste profile.

Kenyan coffee authorities actively promote the Batian variety which they say combines high yields with disease resistance and the desired flavour.

Small holder farmers enlist the help of family and friends (other farmers) in managing their coffee trees – especially during spraying and harvesting.

Farmers can deliver their coffee to any of the 3 Tekangu wet mills. Tekangu has buying centres near the farmers and also transport the

coffee from the centres to the wet mills on the cooperative’s tractors.

Source: Tekangu Farmers Cooperative Society on https://www.utzcertified.org/

Source: Tekangu Farmers Cooperative Society on https://www.utzcertified.org/

COFFEE

Small holder farmers receive training on good agricultural practices and environmental stewardship as part of Tekangu’s UTZ certification. Training of farmers is conducted using demonstration farms.

In addition, Tekangu employs a full-time agronomist who visits and supports farmers to improve their coffee yield and quality.

Peer support is also available through promoter farmers who receive targeted training to improve their yield and quality. Their good results serve as inspiration to other farmers and these promoter farmers share tips that worked for them.

Some farmers produce up to 22kg of coffee per year from each coffee bush. However many still produce as little as 2 – 5kg. The yield varies depending on the variety of coffee grown and agricultural

practices.

Tekangu has a prize-giving system for farmers producing the most coffee.

Farmers say they have noticed an increase in their income based on new skills acquired from the good agricultural practices training. CMS agree that most farmers have managed to increase yield from coffee

bushes to some extent through using good agricultural practices, even though they do not always follow the coffee calendar for fertiliser application.

However, CMS thinks the improvement in yields is hard to quantify due to climate change which has made production unstable.

Farmers are trained in small groups using demonstration farms – including in the

proper handling of chemicals.

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CONCLUDING REMARKS

This supply chain impact assessment looked at the impact of Tekangu Farmers Cooperative Society and its trading relationship with CMS, on Kirimukuyu and Tumutumu communities in Nyeri County, Central Kenya. With the support of CMS, Tekangu has achieved UTZ certification for their coffee and enjoys access to new markets. Our research shows that projects delivered under this partnership do or can have impacts on a number of community assets. However, the biggest impact is related to improving farmers’ coffee yield, earning a premium for their coffee and gaining access to markets. Taken together, these have a direct impact on farmers’ household incomes and indirectly on their local economy. This impact in turn ripples out to other community assets including education, health, environment etc. CURRENT IMPACT

Local farmers told us that going through the UTZ certification process is already leading to improved coffee yield and incomes. CMS is more cautious in its assessment – while agreeing that early signs show some improvement in yield for some farmers, CMS thinks this is hard to quantify just yet because weather changes have made production unstable. In any case, the potential to improve yield and income appears clear to all, and there remains some way to go in further improving farmers’ agricultural practices.

For the foreseeable future, there will likely be a mix of smallholders in these communities, based primarily on the land used for growing coffee. Farmers with more than an acre of coffee farmland have the potential to derive a substantial proportion of their income from coffee. These farmers would benefit from a mindset shift to view coffee farming more as a business than simply a tradition or a hobby. There will also be other farmers in the community with limited access to farm land for whom coffee farming is likely to remain a hobby or only a small proportion of their income. Both these groups of farmers would benefit from improved agricultural practices. The current UTZ and Tekangu approach to training and skills development (including using demonstration farms, promoter farmers, Tekangu agronomist support etc) seems to work well and should be continued, expanded and adapted to these groups of farmers. FUTURE ISSUES

Focusing on skills development among farmers can have a positive impact on current coffee production. However, a key finding from our research is that the future of coffee farming in Mathira West needs to be well managed to ensure that the supply chain remains sustainable and robust. Some of the issues that may affect the future of coffee farming here include:

i. Youth and community attitude to coffee farming: we found that even successful coffee farmers do not see or wish for a future for their children in coffee farming. The communities’ appreciation for education also means that the most capable youths aspire to careers in big towns and cities – at least during their most productive years. Many see coffee farming as only appropriate for retirement. The reality is that not all of these youths will move or remain in the big towns, so there will possibly be enough small holder farmers in the community. Those with access to up to an acre of land must be identified and engaged to accept coffee as a viable part of a “livelihood portfolio” – rather than just a traditional hobby or a career they are stuck with. Changing attitudes to coffee farming could include campaigns in local schools encouraging careers in agriculture – including coffee farming. Additionally, ways to involve “non-resident farm owners“ should be explored. If incomes from coffee improve, farming it would become more attractive for more community members.

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CONCLUDING REMARKS

ii. Environmental impacts: many of the farmers, environmental experts and CMS management mentioned the impact of changing weather patterns on coffee farming. This appears to be related to global climate change. If this unstable weather becomes the norm, it may pose a challenge to the future of coffee in Mathira. CMS and Tekangu Cooperative should explore opportunities for field trials of improved variety coffee already developed by the Coffee Research Foundation in Kenya.

iii. Land inheritance and tenure: Mathira West’s current land tenure and inheritance laws and traditions need to be addressed as they can have a major impact on the future of coffee farming. The current practice entails the division of land among offspring down the generations, which will increasingly make land too small to be viable farms. Leasing farm land from family members for coffee farming is one option that is worth exploring. In order for this to succeed, the value of leasing farmland for coffee cultivation would need to be competitive against other potential uses – including converting land to commercial use. As a part of the local community, Tekangu Cooperative is well-placed to initiate or take part in a discussion to review land use and inheritance practices that may threaten coffee farming.

iv. Engaging with government: the communities in Mathira West seem to have well-established social structures and work well with the Kenyan government and local authorities. This offers a good opportunity for CMS and Tekangu to engage them on strategic issues affecting coffee farming (e.g. land use, research, youth involvement, environmental impact, infrastructure development, new markets etc).

v. Tekangu Cooperative management: Our desk research showed cases of internecine conflicts in other coffee cooperative societies. These conflicts had profound negative impacts on the output of these cooperatives. We found no such evidence at Tekangu. We assume that some of those feuding cooperatives would have started off with similar levels of farmer goodwill and support to those seen in Tekangu. Something must have gone wrong in management or communication within the cooperatives to lead to a breakdown of trust. Based on our experience, we recommend that the Tekangu leadership should not take the widespread support it enjoys for granted. It should make every effort to be transparent – especially in issues of financial management and conflicts of interest. It should also employ participatory leadership approaches – including periodic membership opinion polling – to understand and address any concerns before they become intractable. CMS and UTZ could support Tekangu to consistently nurture its social assets (including the “social contract” with its membership). If that relationship ever breaks down, the cooperative would struggle to perform. The sort of support that CMS and UTZ could offer includes management training, leadership development and succession planning.