An Italian firm has lined up a Ksh 2.8 billion investment which is targeting to improve Kilifi County’s cashew nut value chain.
According to Governor Gideon Mung’aro, the investment is expected to support 10,500 farmers in cashew growing areas within the county.
Governor Mung’aro revealed that the national government has given Italian investors the green light to invest in the cashew nut value chain in a deal brokered by President William Ruto in December last year.
“The investors needed a letter and when we met the President, he directed the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to write it. Now I expect, God willing, Ksh 2.8 billion to help 10,500 farmers to start growing cashew nuts in the county,” he said.
The county has already identified 5,000 acres of land in Chakama where farmers would be allocated land to grow cashew nuts. Others would receive assistance to grow the crop on their own farms and sell the nuts to the investors, who would then process and export them, he said.
“When the investors come, they will not grow the crop. We shall allocate land to local farmers to do the farming, the investors will buy the nuts, process them, and export the processed nuts,” he explained.
This comes as Mung’aro issued Ksh 21 million to 23 savings and cooperative societies (SACCOs) and Ksh 4.5 million to farmer producer groups under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP).
He also witnessed the signing of memoranda of understanding between the groups and NAVCDP officials.
He encouraged SACCOs supported under NAVCDP to embrace modern technology for effective financial management, noting that his administration had taken significant steps to create a conducive environment for the growth of cooperatives.
“I would also like to assure you that my government is committed to provide an enabling environment for the growth of cooperatives in all sectors. We have made important steps in this venture, including the publishing of a County Cooperative Bill,” he added.
The investment is expected to help revitalize cashew nut sector which was once a core economic activity in the coast region but has suffered neglect over the year.
Cashew nut farmers in the county now want the government to allocate additional 100,000 acres of land to support farming in the region.
“This crop needs to increase its orchard size from the current 33,732 acres to 170,000 acres and possibly more. We need to establish an orchard size of over 500 million trees in the next three years to meet part of the global demand,” said Jonathan Bugo, a farmer in the area.
