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Kenya’s macadamia farmers hit by tougher export standards. [Courtesy]
A sharp decline in macadamia quality has triggered a collapse in buyer confidence, leaving more than 200,000 smallholder farmers stuck with large volumes of unsold produce.
In various counties such as Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Embu and Meru, the harvest season, typically a peak selling period, has turned into a storage problem as farmers have been left with huge macadamia stocks that have failed to meet export standards.
The quality decline has largely been linked to premature harvesting, weak pest control at the farm level and poor post-harvest handling practices that have led to mould and spoilage, ultimately eroding farmer incomes.
