Factors Leading to Decline of Coffee in Vihiga County, Kenya

Abstract

Coffee is grown in many countries in the world including Africa and America. Kenyan coffee has been known to be among the country’s agricultural exports and contributes greatly to the growth of Kenyan economy. Coffee production yields has been declining from a peak of 128,700 metric tons per year to an average of 49,088 metric tons. Many industries have tried to address the issues identified to be contributors to the decline but the problem of production of coffee has not been fully solved though there is slight increase in production. The establishment that was under study was small scale farmers of coffee in Vihiga County, Vihiga Sub-county. The primary sources used during data collection include; interviews, observation and questionnaire while secondary sources used were; library research journals, textbook and factory publications. The target population of the study was 300 small scale farmers in Vihiga Sub-county. Ratified sampling technique was used to compare views among coffee producers from various coffee societies and farmers in the area. Data analysis was both quantitative and qualitative using descriptive statistics and data collected was analyzed using statistical program for social as (SPSS).Pests and diseases as well as poor management if adequately addressed by the government can help to increase production.