‘Black gold’: Farmers reap big from coffee value-addition

Coffee beans ready for hulling 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

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.

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