Farmers drawn from counties within the central region have expressed elation after the government extended exportation of unprocessed macadamia nuts for six months.
On September 19, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Andrew Karanja extended exportation of in-shell macadamia up to April 2025.
In November 2023, former Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi suspended Section 43 of the AFA Act of 2013 that prohibits the export of unprocessed macadamia nuts.
The suspension of the law was to end in November this year, but after a push by a section of senators, the suspension of the Act has been extended to six months.
The farmers who met in Murang’a Tuesday said the extension is a short-term relief, asking the government to come up with a permanent solution on the exportation of macadamia.
One of the farmers, Gikara Ndiritu from Nyeri County, said international buyers of the nuts opt to buy in-shell macadamia, thus enabling farmers to get more returns from their produce.
Ndiritu asked lawmakers to stop politicising macadamia among other crops and make laws which will see farmers earn more income from their economic activities.
“Lawmakers from this region should stop playing politics on crops meant for export, like macadamia. They should lobby for the removal of Section 43(a) of the AFA Act; thus, we are allowed to export in-shell nuts,” he added.
Ndiritu said the farmers are interested in the removal of the punitive regulations that bar the export of the in-shell from Kenya to the foreign markets.
“We express our appreciation to Senator Kamau Murango, who chairs the senate committee for agriculture, for lobbying for an extension of the duration. What we really want as farmers is to see the Act repealed,” said Ndiritu, who chairs the Mukagashu nuts self-help group.
Daniel Maina from Gatundu asked AFA to stop formulating policies that are oppressive to nut farmers, saying the authority, before coming up with a policy, should conduct a thorough public participation.
“As nut farmers, we feel abandoned by the regulator who formulated the regulations that favour the processors to the disadvantage of the small-scale producers,” observed Maina.
On his part, John Kamau from Kamacharia in Mathioya said the farmers seek for the repeal of the punitive regulations in the nut value chain.
“The market has been unfavourable to the extent of farmers hawking the nuts in public gatherings, but if Section 43 of the Act is removed, the price of the commodity will be competitive in the international markets,” said Kamau.
Nut Traders Association of Kenya Chairman Johnson Kihara said there are several organisations alleging they are out to fight for the farmers rights, cautioning farmers to be aware of being manipulated and exploited by fake groups.
“The small-scale growers should not be manipulated by the organisations soliciting resources from donors, instead of advocating for the removal of the outdated regulations. Let’s farmers have one stand and lobby for better policies from the government which will favour our sector.” He added.
By Bernard Munyao
