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In this lesson we are going to discuss about The Role of Coffee in the Economies of Kenya and Brazil

Answer Text:
The Role of Coffee in the Economies
a) It’s a source of foreign exchange used to import commodities which are not available locally and develop other sectors of the economy.
b) Saves some foreign exchange that would otherwise be used to import coffee.
c) Source of income to farmers which reduces poverty and raise their standard of living.
d) Source of employment for the workers in farms, factories, co-operatives, etc.
e) It’s a source of foreign exchange used to import unavailable commodities and develop other sectors of the economy.
f) In Brazil it has led to infrastructural development as roads have been constructed to link estates to export cities.
g) It also saves some foreign exchange that would otherwise be used to import coffee.

Problems Facing Coffee Farming
Kenya
a) Poor payment which causes farmers to neglect or uproot the crop and venture in other areas such as horticulture and dairying.
b) Diseases e.g. C.B.D and leaf rust which reduce the coffee yields.
c) Pests e.g. leaf miner which attacks coffee leaves causing them to fall off.
d) Mismanagement of some cooperatives and embezzlement of funds by leaders which has caused some co-operatives to close up.
e) Exhaustion of soil as coffee uses a lot of nutrients from the soil.
f) Inadequate capital making the farmer unable to buy inputs such as fertilizers and chemicals leading to low production.
g) Unreliable rainfall and drought conditions which causes young berries to ripen prematurely and fall off.
h) Competition from other crops which have caused farmers to abandon coffee due to low prices.

How the Government Is Assisting Small Scale Farmers
a) Carrying out research into new species of coffee and control of pests and diseases.
b) Construction of new roads and improvement of the existing ones to enhance transportation of coffee.
c) Providing extension workers through the ministry of agriculture to advice farmers on the best farming methods.
d) Advancing loans to farmers through K.P.C.U. to assist them improve on their farming.
e) It helps the farmers to market their produce through Coffee Board of Kenya.
f) It holds courses and has set demonstration farms to update farmers on new farming methods.

Brazil
The future of coffee production is unstable because coffee production has been declining due to the following reasons:
a) Fluctuations of world prices which has forced some farmers to abandon coffee in favour of other crops.
b) Diversification or introduction of new crops which fetch higher prices e.g. cotton, sugarcane, and maize which have lowered coffee production.
c) Increased competition from other coffee producing countries such as Kenya, Columbia and W. Indies.
d) Indiscriminate picking of ripe and unripe berries causing coffee quality to be among the lowest and thus fetching low prices in the international
market.
e) Climatic hazard of frost which has caused coffee to be replaced with less vulnerable crops such as sugarcane and Soya beans.
f) Soil exhaustion as a result of exploiting the soil without renewing it which leads to low yields.
g) Uncontrolled planting where by farmers plant more trees when there is coffee boom resulting in overproduction.

How the Government Is Responding To the Problems
a) The government lobbies for higher quotas in the world market.
b) Prohibiting new planting.
c) Buying and storing surplus to artificially stabilise supply to maintain profit margins.
d) Creation of artificial shortage of coffee in the world market by the institute for permanent defence of coffee to maintain
high prices.
e) Encouraging crop diversification and mixed farming to reduce overdependence on coffee.