The Ministry of Agriculture has imposed a ban on macadamia harvesting effective November 2024.
Through Agriculture CS Dr. Andrew Karanja, farmers across the country will not be allowed to harvest the nuts so as to curb the importation of immature macadamia. According to the CS, macadamias are more useful within the country than raw importation of them.
“Following consultations with industry stakeholders, a ban on macadamia harvesting will take effect from November 2, until March 1 2025 to curb the export of Macadamia nuts.
- Super petrol and diesel prices reduce by Ksh 8.18 and Ksh 3.54
- Raila Odinga supports leasing of JKIA to Adani group
Dealers must submit their current stock for inspection, verification, and clearance by November 15 2024″ said the Agriculture CS
At the same time, a new price of Ksh 100 per kilogram of the nuts has been imposed by the Agriculture and Food Authority to protect farmers who have been complaining about the falling prices.
It is also the government plan to have more macadamia stocks within the country as opposed to 95 percent of them going for exports. Even those going for exports are of poor quality leading to bad reputation outside the country.
The government has already tasked the Agriculture and Food Authority to ensure that the directive is followed and those violating face the full force of the law including the revocation of licenses.
“The Agriculture and Food Authority is tasked with enforcing strict compliance with this directive, including revoking the license of violators. The authority will also increase inspection and surveillance to eliminate unscrupulous dealers” said the CS
