Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has said that the government has made deliberate interventions to reduce the cost of macadamia production.
Speaking at Embu University Grounds, where he presided over the first National Conference on Macadamia Farming, Kindiki said these interventions will also help in promoting value addition to macadamia before selling.
He stated that Kenya Kwanza has put in place ambitious objectives aimed at catalysing transformation and inclusive growth.
“We have interventions we are making in the next phase of our transformation of this macadamia value chain around seedlings support, expansion of market through promotional activities, enforcement of regulatory framework,” the DP said.
The conference was attended by farmers, processors, financiers, industry regulators, political leaders and other stakeholders.
Kindiki said County Aggregation and Industrial Parks will go a long way in taking macadamia farming in the country to the next level.
He noted that one of the biggest challenges facing the macadamia business is incidents of some companies still engaging in the illegal export of macadamia in shell, and cases where unscrupulous traders return poor-quality nuts that have been rejected after x-ray scanning for sale to unsuspecting new buyers.
He warned that such practices will not be tolerated and the government will stop at nothing to protect farmers and all citizens.
“We are not going to allow export from Kenya of in-shell/unprocessed macadamia. We catch you; we put you in jail. We are not going to renege on this policy; we will be very firm. We cannot allow Kenyan farmers to be exploited," Kindiki said.
“I wish to assure all players in the sub-sector of the government’s commitment towards working with all of you to mitigate these challenges. We will continue to enhance governance reforms in the sub-sector to weed out those who compromise the Kenyan macadamia brand."
He noted that macadamia nuts stand out as one of Kenya’s most versatile and valuable agricultural exports, finding their way into a wide range of global products.
Kenya is the fourth largest producer of macadamia in the world and second in Africa.
The DP said the sector has over 200,000 smallholder farmers in at least 20 counties actively growing macadamia across the country, contributing to household incomes and the economy.
The sub-sector is supported by over 40 processing companies, the majority based in rural areas, creating jobs particularly for women and youth.
Kindiki added that once the transformation is completed and policies operationalised, including the one discouraging export of raw macadamia, the industry can earn Kenya over Sh10 billion annually.
It can also create upwards of 30,000 jobs.
