Embu introduces macadamia to Mbeere


Embu County Government in partnership with local macadamia processors has introduced macadamia farming in the lower, semi-arid parts of the county where the crop is rarely grown.
Governor Martin Wambora yesterday flagged off the first consignment of 5,000 macadamia seedlings for distribution to various parts of the semi-arid Mbeere region.
The Murang’a 20 and Embu 1 varieties are expected to do well in the region and provide an alternative cash crop to khat (muguka/miraa) that is predominant there.
For every seedling a farmer purchases, they will be provided with a similar amount free of charge in a bid to encourage them to embrace macadamia farming, according to Wambora.
The seedlings were provided by Privamnuts Kenya Ltd, Ten Sense Africa Ltd and Afri China processors.
A seedling costs Sh30
0 but Wambora said plans are underway to issue some seedlings for free to families in Mbeere that cannot afford to buy.
The governor said despite Embu being the leading producer of macadamia in the country, it produced wanting quality which they are working to improve.
“The Executive is working on a macadamia policy that once implemented will regulate harvesting times to improve on quality. Embu macadamia should be harvested from March 1 for lower sides and April 1 for upper sides. Harvesting before such times has spoiled the quality. We will not allow early harvesting,” he said.
He said farmers are currently pocketing between Sh120 and Sh160 per kilogram and can make a lot more if quality improves.
He said with the introduction of the crop in the expansive Mbeere region and up scaling of production in upper parts of the county, overall production would rise considerably.
Wambora also hailed the connected farmers application method where farmers are paid through mobile money once they deliver their crop to the processor.
Agriculture CEC Annie Nyaga said macadamia was one of the many crops they were pursuing to diversify crop production in Mbeere region.
Agnes Kariuki, a farmer from Gachoka in Mbeere South welcomed the introduction of macadamia in Mbeere as a departure from over-reliance on muguka which has been blamed for lowering education standards in the area.
According to another farmer Wilson Ndwiga from Njukiri area, a farmer can plant between 40 to 60 macadamia trees in an acre that can earn them about Sh1.5 million in a year.

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