Economic Benefits of Intercropping Young Arabica and Robusta Coffee with Food Crops in Kenya

Abstract

As coffee prices fall, intercropping the young trees with vegetables has been suggested as a way of providing farmers with extra income as well as improving their diet. To test whether this is an economic proposition, Arabica and Robusta coffee was intercropped with various food crops at several sites in the main coffee-growing zones of Kenya. Intercropping with potatoes, tomatoes, dry beans, cabbages, carrots and soyabeans was found to be economically viable, depending on the site. Intercropping coffee with maize, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, cowpeas, garden peas and cassava was not economic, however.