Counties

New coconut variety springs hope for farmers

The first consignment of 6,000 hybrid coconut seeds from India has been shipped into the country, eliciting hopes for thousands of coconut farmers around the coast region.

The consignment is currently at the port of Mombasa awaiting dispatch to Kwale County.

The seeds will be then be taken to the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (Kalro) for commissioning and before being planted on 120 acres of land at the institution.

This initiative is funded by Danida through the Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT).

MESPT corporate communication officer Ann Ngugi said the project was initiated five years ago after interaction with the Asia Pacific coconut community at a conference in Kochi, India.

“Over time now, the idea has attracted various partners that include KALRO, KEPHIS, Nuts and Oils Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture and County governments within the Coastal Region,” she said Friday.

READ: Nyeri to start coconut farming

Value chain

Ms Ngugi added that MESPT has supported the coconut value chain among other commodities for more than 13 years and was instrumental in the formation of the Kenya Coconut Development Authority, which has since rebranded to the Agriculture Food Authority (AFA).

“The imported hybrid coconuts are more superior to the existing Indigenous East African Tall Coconut in terms of quality and quantity of copra production per nut and are set to revolutionize the coconut sector in Kenya,” she added.

Key among the superior qualities of the hybrid coconut include a maturity period of two and half years, compared to the indigenous one that takes an average six years and production per palm/tree per year is 250 nuts compared to 50 nuts for the indigenous.

“The hybrid palms are also product specific, the coconut water; oil content; fibre content; palm wine production etc. while the indigenous is planted by chance," Kilifi County chief officer in charge of agriculture, Baha Nguma, said at Mtwapa today.

He says the shipment of hybrid seeds will be a game changer for the region.

“After they are planted in the pilot programme in Kwale, then we shall distribute them to other regions around the coast. Because they take less time to mature, we are certainly that it will assist farmers get rich quickly and more of them will embrace the crop,” said Mr Baha.