• The country currently produces 12,848 tonnes of cashew nuts in 56918 acres mostly in Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu counties annually.
• Taveta and Tharaka Nithi also produce a small amount of the cashew nuts valued collectively at Sh744,900 million, according to the Agriculture and Food Authority.
Image: FILE
The government plans to reach 700,000 smallholder farmers in the next seven years in efforts to increase the production of cashew nuts to more than 200,000 tonnes annually.
The country currently produces 12,848 tonnes of cashew nuts in 56918 acres mostly in Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu counties annually. Taveta and Tharaka Nithi also produce a small amount of the cashew nuts valued collectively at Sh744 million, according to the Agriculture and Food Authority.
AFA says there has been an overall reduction in acreage under the crop and consequently reduction in production volumes.
Agriculture PS Hamadi Boga attributed the low yields to ageing trees, inadequate agronomy and extension services, weak farmer organisations, weak legislation and a poor regulatory environment.
But the government will step in to offer high-yielding varieties, extension services and streamline the value chain to increase production and incomes.
“Farmers must replace their ageing trees with new, higher-yielding varieties and invest in proper and cashew specialist agronomy and services such as pruning, disease control and proper post-harvest management.
“This is possible only if farmers can access quality seedlings and services and know that they will get a worthwhile reward for their efforts,” Boga said.
He spoke on Wednesday during a virtual media briefing on the government’s intentions to revive the cashew nut sector. The crop, commonly referred to as white gold, was traditionally one of the main sources of livelihoods in the Coast region.
Boga said previous initiatives and programmes aimed at reviving the cashew value chain have not borne the anticipated results.
“But in line with the Big 4 agenda and through the Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy, the government is currently reviewing a proposal for partnership from ETG Farmers Foundation, which aspires to transform the livelihoods of communities in rural coastal regions,” the PS said.
According to AFA, national production for cashew nuts is very low, compared to Tanzania’s 300,000 tonnes.
"There has been an overall reduction in acreage under the crop and consequently reduction in production volumes,” says AFA.
Eliud Kireger, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation director-general, said researchers have developed 14 improved cashew nut varieties including A75/83, A100, A81 and A82 varieties which have a potential yield of up to 50 kilos per tree.
He said the average productivity is 0.5 kg per tree, which is extremely low. Studies undertaken at Kalro-Mtwapa show that this figure can be raised to 30 kg per tree through good husbandry.
Africa produces 60 per cent of the world’s total raw cashew nuts mainly from Tanzania, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Benin, Guinea Bissau and Nigeria.
Boga said the global demand for processed cashew nuts and its products is increasing, with international prices ranging between Sh80,000 and going as high as Sh200,000 per tonne.
“Through initiating a local agro-processing revolution, it is anticipated that this will create 500,000 direct and indirect jobs along the value chain and generate over Sh32 billion in forex,” he said.
Boga said that discussions with the Council of Governors and other stakeholders on how to partner and revive the sector are ongoing.
The PS said for Kenya to be a lead player in the world cashew nut market, all the stakeholders must act together and resolve the systemic bottlenecks in the sector.
The national and county governments, private sector, development partners, processors, and farmers must all work together, he said.
Mahesh Patel, chair of ETG Farmers Foundation said they seek to empower farmers with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed beyond subsistence farming.
“With my 40 years of experience working in agriculture in Africa and specifically the cashew nut value chain, I am convinced of its potential to bring about sustainable socio-economic development. As farmers grow, we grow,” Patel said.
ETG Farmers Foundation is a non-profit organisation which operates in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe across the value chains of cashew nut, sesame, robusta coffee, pigeon pea, green gram, maize, sugarcane, rice, soybean, common bean, chickpea and groundnut.
It has directly impacted more than 100,000 farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The foundation is running a similar project on the cashew nut value chain in Zambia.
Kireger said marketing of raw cashew nuts currently involves simple linkages of farmers to processors and exporters through middlemen.
Processors and exporters buy cashew nuts using agents and scouts who are paid a marginal fee, he said.
“However, one big problem has been the small quantities sold by individual farmers which reduces economies of scale due to high costs involved in bulking sufficient nut quantities, and this has put farmers in a poor bargaining position,” Kireger said.
(edited by o. owino)