Amos Mwenda: Commodities Fund, My farming partner

In a subsector whose national average production per coffee bush is estimated at 2.5 kilograms of cherry in Kenya, Amos Mwenda at an average of 10 kilos of cherry per tree, is producing four times higher from his over 10000 coffee arabica  bushes, which include varieties of  SL28, K7, Ruiru 11 and few Batian cultivars.

Mr. Mwenda, who employs a few permanent and several casual employees, just few kilometres to the west of Nkubu town in Meru County to the East of Mt. Kenya, says: “Most people around here are coffee farmers, majorly small scale growers. But they keep on wondering my magic, because my farms look different from theirs, yet we are in the same ecological area.”

He attributes this to strict observation of Good agricultural practices to his coffee bushes. “These bushes talk to me, and I am always ready to listen. They tell me that they need pruning, I prune. They tell me that they need fertilizer? I avail it. They tell me that I don’t have enough farm hands with me? I hire more.”

And he proudly adds: “Commodities Fund is my partner in this.”

Of late, has been investing on primary processing of his coffee produce, in order to improve his returns. Recently, the Fund financed him to acquire a pulping machine. “I aim at growing to the level of directly marketing my produce locally and overseas,” he says.

In this next level of Amos Mwenda’s Journey, the Commodities Fund will remain his partner, just like it has journeyed with hundreds of other farmers in the sector.

Fund Profile

Mission: To develop crops sector through providing affordable and accessible credit and advances for increased productivity and production, value addition and increased producer income.

Our Clientele

  • Producers (Small and large scale farmers)
  • Producers’ institutions (Cooperatives, Unions, factories, SACCOs, Out-grower companies)
  • Private and government institutions
  • Service Providers for scheduled Crops (processors, Marketers, transporters, exporters, distributors, et cetera.)

Portfolio

The Fund currently finances Coffee and Sugar sectors.

Coffee Portfolio: We have financed coffee sector with credit facilities worth over $280 million, benefiting over 350 Coffee societies, over 100,000 small scale farmers, approximately 700 large Estate growers in 30 coffee growing counties in Kenya.

Plans are underway to extend financing to other crop sectors in Kenya.