Agriculture and Food Authority interim director general Alfred Busolo. [Photo/capitalfm.co.ke]
Macadamia nuts processors have been warned against purchasing of raw nuts from farmers.
Agriculture and Food Authority interim director general Alfred Busolo said this is affecting the export market in Kenya which is at Sh3 billion annually.
Speaking today during a media brief on the current situation of macadamia nut farming in Kenya, Busolo said there had been a high of immature harvesting of macadamia leading to rejection of 10 percent of nuts from farmers at the factory.
We are losing close to Sh600 million from the immature harvesting and this is likely to double this year if farmers do not stop harvesting immature nuts," he said.
Busolo warned that those found exporting the immature macadamia will face the full force of the law.
Initially, the law has not been so stringent, Busolo said adding that they have drafted a bill and once it is passed anyone caught and persecuted will be fined Ksh 5 million for every consignment, their licenses revoked and then the court persecutes them.
"We are working with KRA and Nation Police Service to ensure that processors comply and abide by the law of harvesting only the mature nuts come the harvesting period next month February," he added.
Kenya produces 30,000 metric tonnes against a processing capacity of 90,000 metrics tonnes, Busolo said and called on processors to engage or contract farmers to produce more in order to utilize the capacity.
He said for the last five years, the price of macadamia has been on an upward trend of Sh170 per kg and this is good this he further called on middlemen not to exploit the farmers but pay them well.
"We have an upsurge in estate plantation of macadamia and this will increase the production of macadamia in the country and with 95 percent of the local production being exported, we are projecting an increase of 70,000 metric tonnes from the current production of 30,000 metric tonnes," he said.
He noted that the upward trend of Sh170 in the last five years is likely to increase as there is a high demand for the product in the export market.
Raymond Kahindi, interim head of nuts and oil crops directorate said last year, they planted about 500,000 macadamia seedlings.
"We expect an increase of 30,000 metric tonnes to 70,000 metric tonnes after five years once the seedlings have matured,” he said.
Kahindi added that so far, Central is leading in macadamia production but there is a lot of potential in North Rift areas of Nandi and Uasin Gishu County.
There are about four varieties of macadamia nuts in the country-specific for different regions.