Kenyan farmers embrace commercial growing of oil-producing tree

New cash-generating tea tree that withstands harsh dry conditions is quickly gaining popularity among farmers in arid parts of the country. Demand for the climate-resilient oil-based tree has been surging, attracting many small-scale farmers.

“We have a total of 741 certified farmers and additional 5,000 trained farmers that are soon beginning to start growing the crop,” Earth Oil Extracts Project Manager Martin Wainaina told Xinhua during a recent interview. Wainaina said the tree crop grown in central arid parts of the country was introduced in 2007 and does well in extreme harsh dry weather conditions.