Nut farmers accuse leading processors of frustrating them in payment

Chinese traders’ offer found more appealing, but Government agency won’t give the foreigners chance to buy from locals.

Macadamia nut farmers have accused the Government of harassing Chinese buyers who have been offering better prices.

The farmers singled out the Agriculture Food Authority (AFA), whose officials, they said, frustrated small-scale nut farmers in its efforts to kick out Chinese buyers who it accuses of breaching the law in its dealings with farmers.

The farmers spoke in a meeting held on Wednesday at Sagana, which was also attended by nut traders and processors drawn from Mount Kenya region.

The members recounted how in January AFA imposed a ban on harvesting of nuts to edge out the Chinese buyers while allowing local nut processors to continue buying at lower prices.

The Chinese pay up to Sh180 per kilogramme, while local processors pay as low as Sh130.

The farmers accused some traders of buying immature nuts and lowering the quality of the produce in the global market.

Lowest paid

“We want a kilogramme of nut to fetch above Sh200,” said Johnson Kihara, chairman of Nut Traders Association (NTA).

They demanded that AFA be devolved.

“Many of the officers at the authority lack information on nut farming,” said Ndirangu Nyorotha, a nut processor at Sagana.

NTA secretary Nahason Mugi faulted the Government for failing to implement recommendations of the National Assembly on the nut sector.

“The the National Assembly called for licensing of more processors and support for the sector through the Commodities Fund,” said Mr Mugi.

Contacted for comment, a Nut Processors Association official said all its members were registered and followed the law in their operations. He faulted some agents, saying they were politicising the sector. “There are avenues being explored by some agents to defeat justice,” said Charles Muigai, the association’s official.

AFA, through its head of oil crop department Raymond Kahindi, said it would continue enforcing the law to defend nut quality.