Abstract:
The returns on coffee sales have been low over the years, characterized by low revenues to the farmers from the coffee societies which market the coffee, inability to cover costs of production, low savings as well as investment in the production process. This has left many families in Nyeri county as well as other parts of the country, where livelihoods relied on coffee farming ill abject poverty. The study aimed at determining the factors affecting the earnings of small holder coffee farmers in Nyeri County. The study focused on: evaluating how coffee production process affects earnings of the small holder farmers, investigating the effects of management of coffee societies on smallholder coffee eamings, determining how government policies and regulations have affected earnings of small holder coffee farmers and analyzing the effects of social economic factors on earnings of smallholder coffee fanners. Theoretical profit function and stochastic frontier model and the diffusion of technology in agriculture theories were applied in the study. Further, the study adopted a descriptive survey of the Coffee Farmers in Mathira, Othaya, Mukurue-ini and Tetu regions of Nyeri County, Central Kenya. The target population was the eighty six thousand smallholder fanners who are members of cooperative societies in the Nyeri County and since the population was large, stratified sampling was used to ensure the sample is a true representation of the whole population. The data collected was analyzed using statistical measures of means, correlation, and regression analysis and presented in form of tables, graphs, and pie charts using the scientific program for social studies (SPSS). The findings of this study showed that production factors affect fanners' earnings the most followed by socio economic factors such as poor coffee prices, leading to poor pay to fanners. However, lack of credit facilities and farm inputs was also an important factor affecting the success of the coffee sector. It was recommended that co-operative societies should formulate programs to regulate coffe~ production and organize farmer's education programs, while the government should enable farmer's access subsidized farms inputs and liberalize the market further through direct market access.
