Gichugu MP Gichimu Githinji Hails Record Coffee Payouts as Milestone for Farmers
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By John Kariuki
Gichugu MP Robert Gichimu Githinji has celebrated the highest coffee payouts recorded in Kirinyaga for the 2024/2025 season, calling them a major victory for local farmers and a validation of coffee sector reforms.
Speaking at a farmers’ meeting in Gichugu, Gichimu said the improved earnings were a result of reforms that cut out exploitative middlemen. “This is the change we’ve been advocating — direct impact to the farmer’s pocket,” he said.
Twenty-seven out of Kirinyaga’s 75 wet mills have reported payouts ranging from Ksh100 to Ksh145 per kilo of cherry. Gacami Factory under Baragwi Cooperative tops the list at Ksh145.10 per kilo.
The MP praised the Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company, owned by 14 cooperative societies, for enabling direct sales at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange. “Farmers now control the value chain,” Gichimu noted.
He also credited President William Ruto and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s support through the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), and acknowledged Governor Anne Waiguru’s role in providing extension services and subsidized inputs.
Farmers and cooperative leaders like Joyce Wanjiku (Rungeto Cooperative) and Cyrus Chomba (Baragwi Cooperative) attributed the gains to better practices and cost management.
With Kirinyaga producing over 40,000 tons of coffee annually, generating about Ksh2.8 billion in earnings, Gichimu called for sustained reforms, training, and timely delivery of inputs to build a resilient coffee economy.
“Coffee farming is finally profitable again — and that’s a win for every household in Gichugu,” he said.
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