Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Dr. Andrew Karanja on Tuesday announced the government will be banning the harvesting of macadamia nuts beginning next month.
In an official statement, Dr Karanja revealed that farmers will not be allowed to harvest the nuts from November 2, 2024 to March 1, 2025 to curb exports of immature nuts. CS Karanja revealed that exporting processed macadamia nuts (kernels) is more beneficial to the country than exporting raw in-shell (raw).
"Following consultations with industry stakeholders, a ban on macadamia harvesting will take effect from November 2, until March 1 2025 to curb the export of Macadamia nuts," read part of the notice.
"Dealers must submit their current stock for inspection, verification, and clearance by November 15 2024", continued the notice.
The Agriculture and Food Authority has also announced the new prices of the nuts at Ksh 100 per kilogram. This is after the farmers had decried that the price had dipped sharply.
"A minimum guarantee Farm gate price of at least Ksh 100 per kilogram will be implemented " the notice revealed.
Instructively, 95 per cent of the total annual product of macadamia nuts farmed locally are exported internationally. The government wants to ensure that only the best produce is exported. According to the Cabinet Secretary, a rapid industry assessment showed that many local companies lack quality stocks for processing.
The assessment also highlighted the harvesting, processing, and export of immature nuts, leading to poor performance of the Kenyan Macadamia in the global markets. This forced the government to impose the ban and save quality.
The government has tasked the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) to ensure that this new directive is followed. Farmers who violate this new directive will face stringent measures including revocation of licenses.
"The Agriculture and Food Authority is tasked with enforcing strict compliance with this directive, including revoking the license of violators. The authority will also increase inspection and surveillance to eliminate unscrupulous dealers". The CS noted.
Previous bans on Macadamia nuts harvest had put farmers in a dilemma and exposed them to losses.
In January 2019, the government had placed a similar ban between November 30 and February 15, 2019. This caused many of the farmers to be stuck with produce that they had already harvested.
