It is a big win for Muguka farmers after a Bill seeking to deny it State protection and support was dropped following intervention by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
The DP on Wednesday met and convinced the sponsor of Crops Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, to abandon the intention to remove it from the list of scheduled crops under the law.
"The sponsor has graciously agreed to drop the piece of legislation that was already in the First Reading in the National Assembly. We have been looking for a solution to this matter because we do not want to destroy this value chain which is quite critical to our economy," Prof. Kindiki said.
The Deputy President spoke on Wednesday when he opened the first National Macadamia Conference at the University of Embu grounds, Embu County.
Before gracing the event, he held consultations with Baya, also National Assembly Majority Whip, at the Official Residence in Karen, Nairobi.
On Tuesday, the DP also met with leaders from Embu, including Governor Cecily Mbarire and elected lawmakers, as he sought a solution to the Muguka impasse that has been threatening the economic stability of dozens of counties, among them Emb,u relying on its sale and proceeds.
"The leaders from Embu have persistently sought for a solution to this issue. The Governor, Senator, MPs, Woman Representative and MCAs and other leaders have always sought an intervention to save farmers," he stated.
Leaders from the coastal counties have been agitating for the delisting of the crop, citing adverse effects on consumers. Some governors in the region banned its sale last year, attracting protests from farmers in the Mt Kenya region.
At the same time, the government is fully enforcing the ban on exportation of raw nut-in-shell macadamia to curb exploitation of farmers as it seeks to significantly improve earnings.
The Deputy President reiterated the government's interest in streamlining the sector, which remains largely untapped but full of immense potential.
Kindiki said there will be no compromise in the implementation of the ban, urging the Agriculture and Food Authority to strictly enforce it.
"The government will strictly enforce the ban on the exportation of raw nuts in shell macadamia. This is because we want value addition done on macadamia nuts, which increases their prices tenfold, thus increasing the returns to farmers," DP stated.
The ban aims to expand processing of the nuts locally, including value additio,n which is key in attracting more buyers
"We will be extra vigilant. We cannot allow farmers to be exploited. We will not allow our precious macadamia to be exported at throw-away prices," he added.
The conference held at the Embu University Grounds, themed 'Empowering Kenya's Macadamia Industry through collaborations for enhanced value and sustainability', brought together farmers, experts, government agencies, private sector organizations, traders, and both the national and local leadership as part of sustained policy actions to streamline the agricultural sector.
The event echoed Kenya Kwanza Administration's Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda, which lays a framework for the achievement of the Guaranteed Minimum Returns (GMR) for farmers in various agricultural sectors across the country.
Notably, Kenya is one of the top producers of Macadamia nuts in the world, with national production of raw nut in Shell (RNI) last year standing at 49,183 Metric Tonnes, which is nearly 20 per cent of the global demand.
In recent years, there has been a marked improvement in production with a 10.9 per cent increase from 2023 production of 44,364 Metric Tonnes.
The County of Embu is a towering giant in macadamia farming and is the 3rd highest producer of macadamia nuts in the country, with farmers from the area producing 5,813 Metric Tonnes in 2024.
In the same year, Meru County led production with an output of 9,931 Metric Tonnes, followed closely by Murang’a with 9,756 Metric Tonnes.
