• The CS spoke when he appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee chaired by Kirinyaga Senator James Murango.
• The government lifted the ban on the exportation of macadamia nuts by one year, which ends on November 2.
Image: ENOS TECHE
Macadamia farmers will continue to export their produce for at least six more months.
This is after the state agreed to extend the grace period for the product's exportation.
Agriculture CS Andrew Karanja said the ministry will consider extending the period following calls by senators and farmers.
“We will look at it and have an extension for six months as we conduct public participation,” he said on Thursday.
The CS spoke when he appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee chaired by Kirinyaga Senator James Murango.
The government lifted the ban on the exportation of macadamia nuts by one year. The period ends on November 2.
This followed an outcry from farmers who suffered immense losses that saw them sell the nuts for as low as Sh10 per kilo, while others hawked them on the streets.
The losses were attributed to the fluctuating global market that was grappling with the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war and the fluctuation of the dollar, among others.
Section 43 of the Agriculture and Food Authority Act, 2013, restricts local farmers from exporting the nuts except with the written authority of the Cabinet secretary responsible for agriculture.
In his submission, the CS said the ministry did not intend to extend the period to protect the farmers who have for years been exploited by brokers.
“The lifting of the ban for the export of nuts in shell should not be extended beyond November 2, 2024. This can always be revisited in case of a glut as provided for in section 43 of the AFA Act, 2023,” he said.
Karanja said exporting raw macadamia nuts is inconsistent with the government policy on promoting manufacturing and the already-developed processing infrastructure and related industries.
The ministry argued that continued export of the nuts benefits foreign buyers, who use it as raw material in the destination country at the expense of local processing.
“The nuts in shell are primarily exported to China which is not a final market destination. It is actually a processing hub receiving raw materials from Kenya,” Karanja said.
However, the CS succumbed to pressure by the committee to extend the period as they sought the opinion of the farmers on the way forward.
Murango said lifting the ban in November when farmers are harvesting their produce will trigger massive losses.
“Public participation will take time. Imposing the ban will affect those who have brought the nuts expecting to export,” he said.
Murango said macadamia processors make abnormal profits after buying the produce from farmers for as low as Sh30 per kilo.
Committee vice chairman Alexander Mundigi persuaded the ministry to extend the period by at least one year to enable farmers to earn from their investment.
“We are ready to go for public participation. We are pleading [with the ministry] to give us one more year. I promise you if you go to Embu today, farmers will tell you to permanently lift this ban,” Mundigi said.
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said the decision on whether the state should permanently lift the ban or not should be what the farmers want through public participation.
Kenya has about 200,000 small-scale macadamia farms spread across Embu, Meru, Machakos, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Taita Taveta, Tharaka Nithi, Baringo, Murang’a and Nyeri.
Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Bungoma, Kakamega and Nandi counties have joined the troop with high global demand for the crop leading to a local mad rush to grow the crop.
The farms produce an estimated 41,000 tonnes in-shell nuts, constituting about 20 per cent of global supply.
Processing companies have set up shop in Murang’a, Embu, Taita Taveta and are now expanding to Bungoma.
So far, the country has more than 30 industries buying the nuts from farmers with most simply processing the produce for export.