Written by Lisa Murimi
The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has announced an ambitious nationwide mapping of all coffee farms in Kenya to meet new European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR), warning that non-compliance could jeopardize up to Ksh90 billion in annual coffee exports.
In a statement released Monday, AFA said the two-month exercise will be conducted by a multi-agency team under the EUDR Data Committee, comprising the State Department for Agriculture, Kenya Space Agency, Kenya Forest Service, Directorate of Remote Survey and Remote Sensing (DRSRS), and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization.
“The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, has embarked on a process to map all the parcels of land under coffee farming in the country,” AFA stated.
So far, 30% of the national coffee-growing area — or 32,688 hectares across 16 counties — has been geo-mapped using satellite imagery. The remaining 76,696 hectares across 17 counties must be mapped before the EU enforcement deadline of December 30, 2025.
The EUDR aims to prevent products linked to deforestation, including coffee, cocoa, palm oil, beef, soy, rubber, and wood, from entering the EU market.
For Kenya, which exports 95% of its coffee — 55% of it to EU nations like Belgium, Germany, Sweden, and Finland — compliance is critical.
According to AFA, Kenya exported 122,699 metric tonnes of clean coffee to the EU over the past five years.
The mapping initiative will use high-resolution satellite data to trace farm boundaries and ensure traceability and transparency — key pillars of the EUDR.
The government aims to complete the entire mapping exercise by November 2025 to ensure timely certification and safeguard the future of Kenya’s lucrative coffee trade.
