Kwale, Kilifi told to allocate 100 acres for cashew nut

The Ministry of Agriculture has directed Kwale and Kilifi counties to set aside 100 acres each for development of the cashew nut nurseries in a bid to revive the ailing m sector.

Agriculture Principal Secretary Hamadi Boga said the nurseries will help in addressing the current challenge of aging trees, which has significantly affected production of the once vibrant crop in the coastal region.

Production of the cashew nuts, which is a major cash crop among the coastal dwellers, has dropped from highs of hundreds of thousands of tonnes in early 1980s to a paltry 5,000 tonnes annually currently.

“We want these two counties to allocate the land where we shall grow these seedlings in order to help revival of this important sector among the coastal people,” said Prof Boga.

Once the land is available, the PS said he will lobby the Treasury to provide funds for the programme.

He said the land will be used to produce three million seedlings a year for distribution to farmers.

As Kenya’s production of cashew nuts plummets, the international price of the commodity has been on the rise to hit Sh108,000 a tonne.

The fall of the cashew sector in the Kenya’s coast came at a huge cost for farmers in five counties who heavily relied on the crop as their major source of income.

In Kenya, the cashew, which is mainly a smallholder crop, has traditionally been one of the main sources of livelihoods for farmers in Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River Mombasa and Lamu counties.

Prof Boga said the revival requires joint effort among players such as the national government, county governments, private sector, development partners, processors, and farmers.

He said farmers must replace their ageing trees with new, higher-yielding varieties and invest in proper and specialiced agronomy as well as services such as pruning, disease control and proper post-harvest management.