About two years ago, when members of the Ritho Farmers Cooperative Society Ltd, a farmer-based cooperative in Gatundu South, Kiambu, decided to take a new approach to their operations, they had no idea the move would yield results that would ultimately transform their lives.
Founded in 1995, the cooperative started processing coffee in June 2023. The society says the move is gradually transforming the growth of Kenya’s ‘black gold’ among its members.
“We have been adding value to coffee for almost two years now, and we want the product to be readily available on shop shelves at an affordable price,” said Lucy Wambui Maina, cooperative’s manager and CEO.
The society has 2,000 members who grow coffee in Gatundu.
Although they are not yet fully processing coffee beans, they have gradually started reaping the benefits of their decision. Production has increased. In the 2023-24 season, farmers supplied 970,000 kilos of cherry coffee, up from 795,000 kilos in the 2022-23 season.
The cooperative’s factory, which also cultivates coffee, harvested 5,000 kilos last season—an increase of 2,000 kilos from the previous one.
Ms Maina attributes this growth to the motivation brought by their new approach—promoting local coffee consumption through processing.
According to Ms Maina, value addition offers an open route for coffee producers to generate extra income and secure better pay.
Lucy Wambui Maina,CEO at Ritho Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited, Handege Coffee Factory in Gatundu, Kiambu County displaying graded Green Coffee beans on March 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
She believes that if the cooperative achieves its goal of fully processing its coffee, it will be able to command the market by setting its prices. Currently, pricing is dictated by auctioneers in the global market.
Ritho Cooperative processes premium and ordinary coffee.
Ms Maina says inadequate quality coffee in the market is one of the reasons for the low consumption rate.
“The little that is available is very expensive,” she says.
With the Ritho Gold brand in place, the society prides itself on processing exclusively Arabica coffee to boost producers’ income.
“Additionally, we are trying to create a culture of coffee drinking,” says Ms Maina.
Ritho Farmers Cooperative Society Chairman David Njoroge said they were committed to investing in coffee processing.
Mr Njoroge said in 2016 the cooperative was burdened with debt amounting to Sh24 million, which nearly paralysed the society.
“We were borrowing excessively, and that had to stop since farmers were not benefiting. Thanks to the processing intervention a few years later, farmers now have access to advance financing,” he said, adding that the move has raised farmers’ living standards.
They have so far settled the debt.
Mr Njoroge, a coffee farmer in Gatundu, said processing is one of the most viable approaches to tapping into a lucrative market.
Many farmers have been uprooting their coffee plants to invest in other ventures such as real estate, macadamia, and avocado farming.
Demonstrating Ritho Cooperative’s commitment to making coffee available to Kenyans, Ms Maina says they opted to dispose of some of their assets such as old machines to invest in value-addition.
Ritho Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited members. From left: Chairman David Njoroge Mwihia,Secretary Francis Ndungu and CEO Lucy Wambui Maina displaying packets of Coffee manufactured at Handege Coffee Factory in Gatundu, Kiambu County on March 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Biggest capital
The venture, she says, cost more than Sh900,000 to purchase machinery, including a coffee huller, a grinder, and a locally assembled roaster.
“However, the biggest capital is goodwill. You could have everything, but without goodwill from players, you cannot manage,” she says, noting that growth has resulted from strong management and immense support from farmers.
The cooperative’s leadership structure comprises a nine-member board and a supervisory body.
With an aggregation programme of farmers supplying coffee beans, Ritho Cooperative maintains more than 1,200 coffee bushes on its farm.
When coffee is received at the factory, it undergoes several processes, including hulling— removing the parchment layer from dried coffee beans— and grading.
“Before hulling, the coffee beans must first be properly dried to prevent damage during processing,” Ms Maina explained.
“Our packaging includes sachets as low as Sh50 and Sh100.”
The cooperative’s first customers are its members. It also has a distribution outlet in Gatundu town that brews coffee for consumers.
Ms Maina says the cooperative receives referrals for the export market through the farmers.
“Some members with relatives abroad are ordering coffee and referring us to others,” she says.
Mr Njoroge says they have started creating awareness about coffee consumption in schools with one institution already on board.
“While we primarily target adults, we also want to nurture a coffee-drinking culture among schoolchildren. This will promote the product and eventually boost the coffee industry in terms of sales and income generation,” he said.
A 250-gramme pack of Ritho Gold, the premium brand, retails at Sh400, translating to Sh1,600 per kilo. Ordinary coffee goes for Sh1,200 per kilo.
The cooperative processes more than 250 kilos of premium coffee a month.
Coffee is repackaged after processing at Ritho Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited at Handege Coffee Factory in Gatundu, Kiambu County on March 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Ms Maina says they started by processing five kilos of coffee marketing during farmers’ meetings and field days to create awareness about the idea.
“Ours is farm-to-cup. To experience the real taste of original coffee, we should embrace what we locally produce and process,” she says, adding that accessing premium coffee in Kenya often requires visiting major towns.
Ms Maina says if the cooperative could add value to 40 to 50 percent of its produce, it would significantly improve farmers’ income.
“The least we could pay them is Sh150 per kilo of coffee beans,” she says.
However, they still largely depend on the auction market.
The official says last season, their factory paid farmers Sh84 per kilo of raw coffee beans, a Sh9 increase from the previous season.
“The previous season, a kilo was paid Sh75 and the price we issued in 2023-24 indicates a huge growth,” says Ms Maina.
Francis Ndung’u, a Ritho Cooperative member growing coffee for 30 years, expressed optimism that scaling up value-addition would be a game-changer.
“Through our processing efforts, we have started experiencing the benefits, with a gradual increase in prices,” said Mr Ndung’u, who also serves as the secretary.
Kenya exports about 95 percent of its coffee production, leaving only five percent for local consumption.
According to the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU), a State-owned coffee miller that markets the produce in Kenya and abroad, local consumption stood at only three percent a few years ago.
The increase is a result of efforts to promote local consumption.
The acreage under coffee is also expanding, with new regions joining the industry, particularly in tea- and sugar cane-growing zones.
The Food and Agriculture Authority data shows the area under coffee cultivation has increased from 109,000 hectares to 114,000 hectares.
Annual production ranges between 38,000MT and 52,000MT.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report for 2022/2023 shows that coffee production decreased by 6.2 percent from 51.9MT to 48.7MT, during the crop year under review.
The reduced production compared to the year 2021/2022 is attributed to Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) infestation.
Under the new coffee reforms and the Coffee Bill 2023, New KPCU is confident that the proposals will help increase production and promote local coffee consumption.
The bill was passed in November 2024 by the National Assembly.
“We produce the best coffee but do not fully appreciate it. One of the bill’s key deliverables is the reestablishment of the Coffee Board, which will enhance coffee promotion locally and internationally while ensuring proper regulation of market players,” said Mr Muhia Murigi, Deputy Director in charge of agriculture extension at New KPCU.
Through these reforms, farmers will own the process, interact directly with buyers, and have control over coffee trading and processing.
Lucy Wambui believes that if Kenya fully processes its coffee and sells the finished product, farmers will significantly benefit through better pay and also tap the youths who are largely attracted to value addition.
“Processing will enable farmers to own the coffee industry, gaining market and price control. Currently, the sector complies with prices set by auctioneers,” she pointed out.
Apart from the casual workers who handle factory operations during the coffee harvesting season, the processing facility has also employed two permanent workers.
As they continue to raise the bar, Wambui acknowledges their gradual growth. Initially packaging coffee in plastic containers, they have now advanced to branded packs.
When asked how they have managed to sustain the business and make a profit, she responded, “We have had goodwill from farmers and strong management. Scaling up to profitability was a result of our diversification approach to boost income, and we are now seeing the results.”
Wambui emphasizes that accountability and continuous research have been key lessons for the Cooperative in improving product quality.
However, their success has not come without challenges. Deciding to sell some of the Cooperative’s property to invest in value addition was not easy. Nevertheless, farmers fully embraced the idea after witnessing the benefits of processing.
Looking ahead, Wambui affirmed that they plan to invest in automated machines to enhance efficiency.
