The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has mounted a crackdown on unlicensed dealers and processors of macadamia nuts across 14 counties.
The exercise is meant to protect farmers from exploitation, maintain quality, and also minimise rising theft of the produce from farms before it matures, according to government officials.
Speaking to journalists after an operation that nabbed one of the unlicensed dealers at Kiganjo in Gatundu South, Kiambu County, AFA Deputy Director of the Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate Patrick Kirimi said the offenders will face charges of violating the law.
He added that the operation is ongoing in all the 14 macadamia-growing counties in a bid to check malpractices that are not only against the law but also harm farmers.
“We are currently enforcing the crops, nuts and oil crops regulations of 2020, specifically in the field of macadamia because this is the peak period for the harvesting of macadamia, and it has been reported that there are malpractices that are going on in the counties,” he said
He explained that for one to trade in macadamia, they are supposed to register with the authority and get a license to do clean business, but this has now been penetrated by unscrupulous people who are buying the produce with no license.
“We want to maintain our quality and those unregistered traders are buying immature nuts from the farmers, which affect the quality of the produce that we are exporting”, Kirimi said.
In Gatundu, AFA officials who were accompanied by police officers pounced on the unlicensed dealer whom they found still receiving macadamia nuts before they arrested him and carted away part of his equipment.
Noting that macadamia exports earned the country Sh5 billion in 2024 and the proceeds are still in an upward trend, Kirimi said the authority is working with stakeholders to ensure farmers continue to reap more from their sweat.
He said among the players that AFA is bringing onboard are farmers, processors, marketing agencies, and exporters so as to enhance production and have a structured value chain.
The official also noted that Kenya is currently the third biggest producer of macadamia nuts in the world after South Africa and China, a feat that he said the Authority is committed to retaining and improving on.
Kirimi also appealed to processors to abide by the law, maintaining that they stand to benefit from lawful processing and export of quality nuts, which fetches better prices in the international market.
This, he added, will also help create more jobs for the youth and improve family livelihoods.
Those trading in macadamia illegally, he warned, risk being fined Sh500,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years or both for contravening the regulations.
In the past year, Kenya was number three in the world in the export of macadamia to the outside world and according to AFA, the country would want to lead but this, they say, can only been done through tracing back source of the produce
AFA’s strict seasonal regulation is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that locally produced nuts meet global standards, while also enhancing the country’s competitive position in international markets.
By Wangari Ndirangu
