{"id":14602,"date":"2026-01-10T05:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T05:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/14602\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T05:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T05:46:21","slug":"cs-kagwe-targets-cashew-revival-to-create-over-350k-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/14602\/","title":{"rendered":"CS Kagwe targets cashew revival to create over 350k jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe during a visit to cashew nut farmers and processors in Kilifi County\/HANDOUT<\/p>\n

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has moved
\nto revive the country\u2019s ailing cashew nut industry.<\/p>\n


\n
\nSpeaking during a visit to cashew nut farmers and
\nprocessors in Kilifi County, he pointed out that years of declining production
\nhave cost the country jobs, incomes and export earnings.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThis, the CS stated, is happening despite the
\ncontinual rise of the global demand for the crop.<\/p>\n


\n
\nKenya currently produces only about 13,000 tonnes of
\ncashew nuts annually, far below its installed processing capacity of 45,000
\ntonnes.<\/p>\n


\n
\nKagwe said this gap has denied the economy hundreds of
\nthousands of potential jobs and pushed farmers out of a crop that once anchored
\nlivelihoods along the Coast.<\/p>\n


\n
\nAgriculture and Food Authority (AFA) estimate that a
\nfully revived cashew industry could create up to 350,000 jobs across farming,
\nprocessing, transport and exports.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe Authority also states that it could contribute
\nover Sh30 billion to GDP and restore cashew as a key income earner for coastal
\ncommunities.<\/p>\n

Packed cashew nuts at a processing plant in Kilifi County\/HANDOUT<\/p>\n

Kagwe said years of falling production have eroded
\nlivelihoods along the Coast, despite Kenya having suitable land, strong global
\ndemand and underutilised processing capacity.<\/p>\n


\n
\nHe was accompanied by the Director General of AFA, Bruno
\nLinyiru and, Director of Nuts and Oil Crops at AFA, Ann Gikonyo. <\/p>\n


\n
\nThe CS said the government\u2019s revival strategy is
\nanchored on science and farmer support, led by the Kenya Agricultural and
\nLivestock Research Organisation (KALRO), particularly its Mtwapa Centre, which
\nfocuses exclusively on cashew nut research.<\/p>\n


\n
\nKagwe said KALRO Mtwapa has developed a new cashew
\nvariety which is disease-tolerant and capable of doubling yields, with 20,000
\nseedlings of the improved variety already available for distribution during the
\ncoming long rains. <\/p>\n


\n
\nHe added that four additional improved varieties are
\nat advanced stages of development and will be ready within six months, directly
\nresponding to farmer complaints on declining yields and disease.<\/p>\n


\n
\n\u201cFarmers have complained about declining yields and
\ndisease pressure. Research has responded, and the solutions are ready,\u201d Kagwe
\nsaid.<\/p>\n


\n
\nSeedling multiplication and distribution are being
\ncoordinated by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in collaboration with
\ncounty governments, with support from KEPHIS and extension services, to ensure
\nquality assurance and last-mile delivery to farmers.<\/p>\n

Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe mingles with workers during a visit to cashew nut farmers and processors in Kilifi County\/HANDOUT<\/p>\n

During engagements with farmers, the ministry
\nintensified sensitisation on good agronomic practices.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThis includes the recommended spacing of 10 metres
\nby 10 metres and intercropping cashew with coconut and mango, a model that can
\nsignificantly raise incomes while improving climate resilience.<\/p>\n


\n
\nKALRO officials noted that top-grafting remains a
\nviable and faster option to rehabilitate ageing orchards and restore
\nproductivity.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe CS questioned Kenya\u2019s continued reliance on
\nimports despite the crop\u2019s strong local potential. <\/p>\n


\n
\n\u201cHow can we be importing cashew nuts when our land is
\nidle, and our farmers are struggling?\u201d he posed.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe delegation also engaged private sector players,
\nincluding East River Foods EPZ Limited (formerly Grow Fairly), which said the
\ncountry urgently needs to scale up production to match processing capacity.<\/p>\n


\n
\nEast River Foods EPZ Limited ( formerly Grow Fairly )
\ntold the CS it has invested about USD 3 million in the cashew value chain and
\ncurrently employs about 600 women in processing, while working with 15,000
\nfarmers across the region. <\/p>\n


\n
\nHowever, only 3,000 farmers have 50 trees or more,
\nunderscoring the low scale of production at the farm level.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe company noted that although about two million
\nseedlings have been distributed since 2017, access remains a challenge, with
\nfarmers saying even the subsidised price of Sh30 per seedling is still unaffordable
\nfor many households.<\/p>\n


\n
\nProcessors also cited gaps in last-mile delivery,
\ncalling for stronger coordination between national agencies and county
\nextension services.<\/p>\n


\n
\nAnother processor, Nuts and More Processing (EA) EPZ
\nLtd, established in 2021 and operational since 2023, said the insufficient supply
\nof raw cashew remains the biggest constraint. <\/p>\n


\n
\nThe company has a processing capacity of 7,000 tonnes
\non a single shift, expandable to 15,000 tonnes, but continues to operate below
\ncapacity due to low domestic production.<\/p>\n


\n
\nKagwe said the revival of the cashew industry will
\nrequire a whole-of-government approach, bringing together the Ministry of
\nAgriculture, KALRO, AFA, KEPHIS, county governments, farmers and private
\nsector.<\/p>\n


\n
\nHe announced plans for a high-level meeting involving
\nall stakeholders to agree on a fast-tracked master plan to restore production,
\nstabilise supply for investors and rebuild farmer confidence\u00a0\u201cCashew farmers, there is hope.We have heard you and
\nthis time, we are moving with speed and seriousness,\u201d the CS said.Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe during a visit to cashew nut farmers and processors in Kilifi County\/HANDOUT<\/p>\n

Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe during a visit to cashew nut farmers and processors in Kilifi County\/HANDOUTA cashew nuts processing plant in Kilifi County\/HANDOUT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe during a visit to cashew nut farmers and processors in Kilifi County\/HANDOUT Agriculture Cabinet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[9699,6711,9700,9698,9701,80,9702,100,101,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-14602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-cashewnuts","9":"tag-coast","10":"tag-inducstry","11":"tag-kagwe","12":"tag-kalro","13":"tag-kenya","14":"tag-mtwapa","15":"tag-star-news-kenya","16":"tag-the-star","17":"tag-the-star-newspaper"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}