- In the last decade, many farmers have increased the macadamia trees in their farms in a bid to reap more from the promising nuts agribusiness.
- Apart from low maintenance cost, farmers have hailed macadamia farming for having minimal diseases and pest attack.
Image: KNA
About 30 years ago, farmers in Murang’a could not, even in their wildest dreams, imagine that macadamia seedlings they were being offered would one day replace coffee as their major source of income.
Coffee factories used to provide farmers with macadamia seedlings to plant in their farms to protect the coffee bushes from strong winds and direct sunlight.
Now the farmers are slowly abandoning coffee farming and turning to macadamia as the demand for the nuts continues to increase and fetch better prices.
Several farmers from Kahuro, Murang’a, have adopted macadamia farming, saying the nuts have rescued them from poverty following declining fortunes in the coffee sector.
“We were given macadamia seedlings to plant in our farms by our local coffee factory about 30 years ago, they were to protect coffee bushes from strong winds and sun,” Anthony Wacu, a macadamia farmer, said.
Wacu, who has a farm in the Mugoiri area, said they have been struggling to get good returns from coffee, thus the motivation to venture into macadamia farming.
In the last decade, many farmers have increased the macadamia trees on their farms to reap more from the promising nuts agribusiness.
Many companies have established factories to process macadamia and some exporters are also buying the nuts directly from farms.
Michael Kariuki introduced macadamia farming in his once idle section of land and is hopeful of making good returns soon.
“I planted 55 seedlings five years ago and I am hopeful early next year I will make my first sale. Macadamia farming motivated me because it requires minimal maintenance cost unlike coffee and pays on regular short intervals,” he said.
Apart from low maintenance costs, many other farmers have hailed macadamia farming for having minimal diseases and pest attacks.
They also cited instant payment upon delivery of their harvests as one of the reasons that have attracted them to venture into macadamia farming.
Once farmers harvest macadamia nuts, they peel the fresh green coat and deliver it to an authorised agent in Kahuro town. The agent buys the nuts on behalf of numerous companies, including Jungle Nuts, Kenya Nuts, Sagana Nuts and Farm Nuts.
Peter Kamau Irungu, who operates the collecting point at Kahuro, revealed he buys an average of 500kg of macadamia a day from many small-scale farmers yet to be registered.
A kilogramme of macadamia sells for an average of Sh150, which is highly attractive to farmers, but, according to Kamau, the demand reduced to an average of Sh60 a kilo amid restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“Before Covid-19, we used to buy the nuts from the farmers at around Sh150, but since then the rate of exportation went down with a kilo going for around Sh60. The market is, however, reviving gradually and demand is going up once again,” he added.
Many macadamia farmers in the area are optimistic that the new cash crop will be a major source of income in the coming years, amid reports of Kenya being ranked among top producers of macadamia in the world, with top export destinations being China, Japan and the US.
The main challenge facing macadamia farming in the area is the theft of nuts at night by unknown people.
The farmers are now calling on the government to register all of them to ensure only those registered sell their nuts.
The farmers are also seeking government interventions to protect them from fluctuating world prices. They have requesting agricultural extension services to help them increase their productivity.
-Edited by SKanyara