Macadamia farmers are seeking to escalate their grievances to President William Ruto, bypassing Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe after what they describe as a systematic failure to engage stakeholders in policy decisions affecting the industry.
Chair of the Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate (NUTAK), Johnson Kihara, has made a direct appeal to President Ruto, alleging that macadamia farmers and industry stakeholders have been completely shut out of consultations by CS Kagwe.
According to Kihara, the enforcement of Section 43 of the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Act, 2013, which restricts the export of raw macadamia nuts unless approved by the Cabinet Secretary, was implemented without proper public participation, violating constitutional principles.
"We are asking for a meeting with the President so we can explain our challenges fully and allow farmers to sell their produce freely without being forced through one office," Kihara stated, emphasising that repeated attempts to secure meetings with the CS had failed.
Farmers had proposed compromise solutions, including a 60–40 sharing arrangement, but Kihara says these were flatly rejected without explanation.
He also raised questions about who truly benefits and who loses under the current policy framework, suggesting that only a handful of well-connected players are profiting from export deals, while the majority of farmers remain excluded.
Kihara further questioned CS Kagwe's claims that markets had been secured for Kenyan macadamia nuts, pointing to reports of large export consignments to the United States and arguing that only well-connected players benefit from such arrangements.
The controversy centres on export restrictions that the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has periodically enforced to promote local value addition. While the government's stated intention is to protect the industry by ensuring nuts are processed domestically, the practical effect has been devastating for smallholder farmers.
Restrictions on raw (in-shell) macadamia exports often left farmers without immediate buyers, creating market gluts and forcing them to sell at drastically reduced prices.
In late 2025, the AFA imposed a ban on harvesting and trading from December 1, 2025, to February 15, 2026, apparently to prevent the sale of immature nuts and protect Kenya's international quality reputation. However, farmers argued that this adds another layer of constraint to an already challenging operating environment.
The result was a system where approximately 77.5 per cent of farmers remained dependent on brokers and middlemen who manipulated weighing scales and paid below official rates, capturing the majority of profits despite government-mandated minimum farm-gate prices of approximately Ksh100/kg.
Kihara issued a warning about the political implications of continued government neglect. He claimed the macadamia value chain represents more than two million votes nationwide and warned that growing frustration in macadamia-growing regions could have consequences ahead of the 2027 General Election.
According to him, farmers will support leaders who listen to their concerns regardless of political affiliations. He urged the President not to rely on what he termed misleading advice from officials and warned that continued neglect risks eroding public trust and turning farmers against the administration.
