Coconut farmers stuck in low-yielding varieties, old methods

Born and brought up in the Kinondo area of Msambweni, Kwale, Mwinyi Amir Bendera, 61, has been a coconut farmer for over three-quarters of his life.

He has known no other crop in his farming journey. His parents raised and schooled him using income from coconut. Bendera, a father of eight, easily took his cue from them. He has also been eking a living out of the tree crop. 

Bendera, however, blames a lack of modernisation for low incomes. He says the only thing that has changed since he started coconut farming over 45 years ago is the use of manure and a bit of line spacing.

“We have been using the same old variety of seeds and basically the same methods of farming,” he said.

The Coast has about 100,000 coconut farmers. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries says lack of research on coconut farming is one of the major challenges faced by growers.

The committee last Thursday said the time has come to introduce a mechanism that will ensure farmers fully exploit the tree.

Speaking in Mombasa where they took stakeholders through the Coconut Industry Development Bill, 2021, committee chairman Njeru Ndwiga also regretted that farmers on the Coast are stuck in the past, using old methods and seedlings.

“Research will enable stakeholders to identify the flaws in the sector and come up with solutions that will enable the farmers to get more from the tree than they do today,” Ndwiga said.

The bill, sponsored by the Embu senator himself, seeks to establish a coconut development fund to enable, among other things, industry research.

Ndwiga noted the need for high-quality varieties used in countries like India. They mature faster and are high-yielding, translating into more money.

“Majority of the Kenyan coconut farmers still uses the old seeds that take five to six years to mature, whereas there are seedling varieties that take only three years to mature,” Ndwiga said.

The lawmaker said the old varieties are very tall, hence difficult to climb. Shorter varieties have emerged in countries like India and other Asian states.

Ndwiga said more than 120 products can be produced from coconut trees, yet their fruits remain largely untapped.

“County governments on the Coast need to enhance extension services to help farmers improve on their farming methods and yields,” he said.

Bendera said he harvests between 800 and 1,000 coconut fruits from one of his farms. He farms three acres.

“I harvest four times a year and sell each coconut at Sh14,” he said.

The area under coconut farming in Kenya is estimated to be 200,000 acres, with most trees, about 92 per cent, aged 20-60 years.

The rest of the tree population is beyond the economic age limit of 60, thus produces low nuts or none at all.

Bendera said one acre can produce 45 to 50 trees.

According to the Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate, coconut trees on the Coast had taken up 82,921 hectares, producing 92,569 tonnes worth Sh4.8 billion by 2018.

Kilifi county leads, with 40,225 hectares farmed. This produced 44,044 tonnes of coconuts worth Sh2.4 billion in 2018, the last time a study was done.

Kwale follows with 30,895 hectares, with coconut trees worth Sh1.9 billion. Lamu had 10,503 hectares, producing 5,887 tonnes of coconuts worth Sh282 million.

Mombasa had 151 hectares, producing 1,953 tonnes of coconuts worth Sh93 million. Taita Taveta had 97 hectares, producing 759 tonnes of coconuts worth Sh37.9 million. And Tana River had 1,050 hectares, producing 740 tonnes of coconuts worth Sh36.3 million.

Mombasa agriculture executive Tendai Mtana said the Coast region has not fully exploited the coconut potential. He said the youth should be supported to venture into coconut farming, which is mainly perceived as a preserve of the elderly.

“We've sat down as agriculture executives from all the six coastal counties under Pakacha to ensure we get the youth more interested in coconut farming using modern methods and improved varieties," he said.

He said value extraction is more important than value addition when it comes to the coconut tree.

“The coconut tree is essential in many industries because its products can be used in industrial chemicals, the hotel industry and the construction industry, among others,” Mtana said.

He said regulation of the industry has been a major challenge, with security officers taking advantage of regulatory and legal gaps to exploit sellers, especially those in the palm wine trade.

“The perception that palm wine is an illegal brew has been the main thorn in the flesh.

“Palm wine is known throughout the world as a drink safe for human consumption,” he said.

Mtana appealed to the county officials and county commissioners to deliberate on the palm wine business and stop the harassment of sellers. He said like other alcoholic drinks, palm wine has regulations that must be followed. 

Bendera said he is glad the focus has shifted to the coconut tree after years of neglect.

“We are glad that the coconut tree is now getting the recognition it deserves. This tree is not for the coastal people alone because its benefits cut across all regions in the country,” he said.

Accessing the market for coconut products has been a major challenge, leading to low sales.

“The market we have is when individuals come to buy, and such cases are few. We lack access to value addition instruments to help us make the tree and its products more valuable,” Bendera said.

Kentaste Products Limited has been their main market. It established a factory in Ukunda in 2011 and had the capacity to buy up to 20,000 coconuts a day, but Bendera said farmers take up to 60,000 coconuts a day.

“They are overwhelmed. We need more coconut factories,” he said.

He said he has been unable to use the hybrid variety from India because of its high cost and strict requirements.

“They said for it to grow well, you must fence your farm. This is just one of many requirements that only push the cost of planting up,” Bendera said.

He has a nursery where he sells seedlings for Sh100 each. The hybrid variety goes for up to Sh3,000 each. He said brokers have also flooded the market, sometimes exploiting them. They want each coconut at as low as Sh7.

“If we had strong cooperatives, we would be better off,” Bendera said.