Coast cashew sector's fall, hopes, and skepticism

A cashew nuts farmer at his farm in Tezo, Kilifi county. [File, Standard] In the sun-scorched counties of Kilifi, Kwale, and Lamu, a spirited campaign to revive Kenya's once-prized cashew sector is underway. The sector that was the anchor of rural livelihoods in the 1970s and 80s has, in recent years, staggered under the weight of ill-timed policies, broken markets, and years of systemic neglect. Since 2014, four years after the ban on exports of raw nuts coupled with hurried devolution of agriculture functions to ill-equipped county regimes, the sector was put on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, the collapse of Kilifi Cashew Nuts Ltd (KCL) in the early 90s and farmers' cooperatives that ripped away structured markets was the last nail in the coffin of the sector. What followed were the years of a decline in production and productivity of the cashew trees, from nearly 13,000 tonnes in 2019 to a dismal 9,000 tonnes by 2023. According to the 2024 National Agriculture Production Report, it paints a sobering picture of the crisis in the one jewel of the coastal economy. Despite marginal expansion in acreage, from 22,680 hectares in 2019 to 24,437 hectares in 2023, the national output nosedived by almost 30 per cent over the same period. It shows that production dropped from 12,807 tonnes to 8,979. Three things have conspired to these results: pests and diseases, poor crop husbandry, and unfavourable weather conditions. Meanwhile, new processors say they are struggling to find raw materials. Nuts and More EPZ Kenya, launched in 2023 with an annual processing capacity of 7,200 tonnes, says it operates far below capacity, relying on semi-processed imports from Tanzania to stay afloat. Fairly Grow Ltd, also new and with a similar capacity, has resulted in ferrying macadamia from Mt Kenya for processing in Kilifi to keep the factory moving. "High prices in Tanzania forced us to skip imports this year, but with a decent local harvest, we can process consistently from December through August," an official at Nut and More Ltd said. In Kilifi, the county government is placing its bets on a colossal Sh2.8 billion investment by an Italian investor designed to resuscitate its cashew value chain. Governor Gideon Mung'aro, riding on a deal brokered by President William Ruto in December last year with an Italian investor, promises a transformative leap for over 10,500 farmers. The county, in February this year, disbursed sh25.5 million to cooperatives and farmer producer groups through the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP). At the heart of this strategy is a 5,000-acre nucleus estate in Chakama, designed as a dedicated cashew farming zone. The investors' role, Mung'aro emphasised, will be strictly confined to processing and export. To underpin this, the county is drafting a County Cooperative Bill to inject professionalism and operational rigour into local SACCOs. Yet, on the ground, skepticism lingers. "We have seen promises come and go," said James Katana, a veteran cashew farmer from Ganze. "If it puts cash in our pockets, we are on board," Katana said. In Kwale, Governor Fatuma Achani is charting its revival path. Collaborating with the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), the county has distributed over 9,000 seedlings across 20 wards. Agriculture Executive Roman Sherah frames the push as more than an agricultural exercise: "It is rebuilding rural livelihoods and restoring dignity to our farmers," she said. Scientific innovation is now part of the equation. Since 2024, coastal counties have embraced new, high-yield, drought-resistant varieties-KKorosho 75, KKorosho 100, KKorosho 81, and KKorosho 82, developed by the KARLO. These fast-maturing varieties promise to rewrite the production narrative. Backed by these advances, AFA has rolled out a sweeping intervention plan. "Between 2024 and 2025, we have distributed 1.1 million seedlings across coastal counties, covering nearly 15,000 hectares," noted Dr Bruno Linyiru, Director General of AFA. Linyiru says meaningful returns will take five to seven years. To build resilience, AFA is also expanding cashew cultivation to non-traditional regions. In 2025 alone, 100,000 seedlings will be distributed nationwide, with Coast and Makueni counties receiving the lion's share of 40,000 seedlings each. Cashew nuts in a farm in Kilifi county. [File, Standard] For farmers like Mary Bakari in Matuga, the seedlings are only the start of the journey. "We have planted, but what now? Buyers still offer peanuts. We need help beyond planting, training, market access, and guaranteed prices. Otherwise, we are stuck," Bakari said. In Lamu, Governor Issa Timamy has secured a UK-funded Sustainable Urban Economic Development (SUED) project to establish a modern processing factory to create over 200 jobs. Equatorial Nut Processors will manage the plant, targeting 142 tonnes of raw nuts in its first year, scaling to 3,500 tonnes in five years. The constructor will be on the site in the coming months. "This factory brings real hope," said Mohammed Kombo, a Hindi farmer, where the factory will be established, and added that if the government does not intervene, brokers will continue to exploit the farmers. Currently, farm-gate prices hover around a dismal range of between sh30 and 50 per kilogram, or worse, pushing many farmers to abandon the crop altogether. Sector value has crashed from sh904 million in 2014 to just sh451 million in 2023, according to AFA statistics. AFA is pushing to bridge knowledge gaps through capacity-building initiatives. "We are training county extension officers and farmers in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and climate-smart methods," Linyiru disclosed. AFA is also focusing on long-term sustainability by training local nursery operators to produce commercial-grade seedlings. Senile trees, according to Linyiru, dominate current orchards, while young trees are years away from yielding. Patience and long-term investment are critical, Linyiru emphasised. The task force that recommended the ban proposed the creation of a dedicated regulatory authority, guaranteed minimum prices, cooperative revival, and farmer subsidies. Fifteen years later, these proposals remain gathering dust on government shelves. Industry watchers warn that unless aggressive measures, ranging from massive extension services to orchard rehabilitation, establishment of aggregation centres, and imposition of minimum farm-gate prices, are urgently instituted, Kenya's cashew legacy could be lost forever. For Kenya's coastal farmers, this is no longer just a revival but an existential battle to reclaim their economic future. Lamu's Lake Kenyatta Cooperative Society chairman, David Njuguna, said despite the good harvest this season due to good weather, farmers have not been able to sell their cashew nuts. He says that there are no active buying channels, and organised groups that previously coordinated sales and negotiated with processors seem to have collapsed. "In the past, we had farmer groups that engaged directly with processors such as Equatorial Nuts. These processors are still operational, but there appears to be no structured engagement with farmers this season," Njuguna said.

Coast cashew sector's fall, hopes, and skepticism

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