Cashew nuts. Many farmers have already abandoned its growing following huge losses accruing from the export ban. Photo/ alibaba.com.
Cashew nut farming in the Coast region is facing a total collapse following the 2009 ban on exports.Many farmers have already abandoned its growing following huge losses accruing from the export ban.Growers from Mpeketoni, Witu and Faza in Lamu county are the most hit.Speaking to journalists on Monday, Lamu West MP Julius Ndegwa who owned the crop's plantation said farmers are demoralized due to lack of market for their harvest.The lawmaker said unless the ban is lifted, cashew nut farming will be no more as some farmers had began uprooting the trees.“The ban has killed the cashew nut industry,” he said.“We feel it has been in place for too long. I call on the government to lift the ban on exportation of cashew nuts. It has really affected us. In Mpeketoni for example, our farmers have began uprooting the cashew trees while others have ceased to plant more. We no longer see the benefits of the plant,” he added.There are more than 10,000 cashew nut farmers in Lamu alone with Mpeketoni, Baharini, Kiongwe, Tewa, Hongwe, Telelani, Uziwa and Witu being the main growing areas.Farmers say it was high time the government considered lifting the ban before the sector totally collapses.“Enough is enough,” said one farmer, Titus Ngugi as quoted by Business Daily.“We have been exploited and it is high time the government lifts the ban. Some of the cashew nut dealers have gone to an extent of coning us. They take our produce promising to pay us at a later date but at the end of the day, they vanish,” he added.