Nuts processors have been enjoined In a case seeking to stop the government from enforcing a ban on exportation of raw nuts.
The case filed on November 13 by farmers' rights crusader Erick Mwirigu and Edenswin Traders Ltd before Justice Lawrence Mugambi also seeks orders halting the ban on harvesting of the nuts until next year.
Agriculture CS Andrew Karanja on October 22 issued a ministerial order banning the harvesting of macadamia nuts from November 2 to March 1 next year.
The CS issued the order just days before the expiry of another directive issued last year by former Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi lifting the ban for one year.
In 2019, macadamia prices hit an all-time high of up to Sh180 per kilo but plummeted to as slow as Sh20 per kilo by early 2023, prompting some farmers and exporters to ap proach the ministry for help.
To address this, the ministry, under Section 43 of the AFA Act, 2013, lifted the ban on raw macadamia exports, providing a one-year export window effective from November 3,2023.
The Act prohibits exportation of raw nuts without the written approval of the Cabinet Secretary.
The petitioners told the court that macadamia nuts in Meru. Murang'a, Embu, Kirinyaga and Nyeri are al ready mature and cannot wait for March to be harvested.
Mwirigi argued that the CS lacked jurisdiction to suspend harvesting of the nuts, terming the directive as unreasonable and skewed towards the processors.
He said the order was issued with out the proper public participation or consultation with farmers.
On Friday, Justice Mugambi en joined Macnut in the case, giving the association and other interested par ties two weeks to file their responses.
The court scheduled the case for a ruling on February 16 next year.
The processors, however, claimed they had been occasioned huge loss es by the lifting of the ban and that farm-gate prices had also been ad versely impacted.
Nicholas Njeri, a director at Jumbo Nuts and a member of Macnut, said the case is pivotal for farmers, local processors, and the sustainability of the macadamia sector.
Njeru said farmers have faced significant losses with middlemen offering low prices for raw nuts, leading to a drop of farm-gate price by up to 30 per cent.
"Small-scale growers are especially struggling to maintain production. Local processors, who have heavily invested in capacity and compet itiveness, are now facing raw nut shortages and operating below ca pacity."
Njeru pointed out that this year alone, more than 5,000 jobs have been lost in the sector.
"The policy has exposed farmers to exploitation, while reversing progress made in developing Kenya's value-added macadamia Industry, Njeru said.
Jessee Mwangi, a farmer in Wanjengi area, Murang'a county, said in previous years, he would make more than Sh2 million from his five-acre macadamia farm.
Mwangi, who has been farming the nuts for 15 years, said lifting the ban on exportation of raw nuts has left farmers at the mercy of brokers, reducing their earnings.
