NAIROBI, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenya aims to create about 350,000 jobs and invest 30 billion Kenyan shillings (about 232.5 million U.S. dollars) through the revival of the country's ailing cashew nut industry, a senior government official said Thursday.
Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that years of declining production have cost the country jobs, incomes, and export earnings, even as global demand for the crop continues to rise.
Kagwe, who met with cashew nut farmers and processors in Kilifi County, said that years of declining production have eroded livelihoods along the coast, despite Kenya having suitable land, strong global demand, and underutilized processing capacity.
"Farmers have complained about declining yields and disease pressure. Research has responded, and the solutions are ready," Kagwe said in a statement issued after the meeting.
The East African nation currently produces only about 13,000 tonnes of cashew nuts annually, far below its installed processing capacity of 45,000 tonnes, a gap Kagwe said has denied the economy hundreds of thousands of potential jobs and pushed farmers out of a crop that once anchored livelihoods along the coast.
Kagwe said the government's revival strategy is anchored on science and farmer support, led by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), particularly its Mtwapa Center, which focuses exclusively on cashewnut research.
He said KALRO Mtwapa Center has developed a new cashew variety that is disease-tolerant and capable of doubling yields, with 20,000 seedlings of the improved variety already available for distribution during the coming long rains.
He added that four additional improved varieties are at advanced stages of development and will be ready within six months, directly responding to farmer complaints about declining yields and disease.
During the meeting, processors also cited gaps in last-mile delivery, calling for stronger coordination between national agencies and county extension services. ■