By Victor Prince
The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), has concluded a nationwide public participation exercise on the draft Nuts and Oil Crops Strategy 2025–2030 and proposed amendments to the crops (Nuts and Oil Crops) regulations, 2020.
The consultations, conducted across all regional clusters in the country, mark a significant step towards reforming Kenya’s nuts and oil crops subsector. The initiative seeks to enhance local production and productivity, improve market access, promote value addition, and reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imported edible oils.
According to AFA, stakeholders now have an additional one week to submit their final views and recommendations before the strategy is finalized.
The proposed strategy is expected to unlock the economic potential of Kenya’s nuts and oil crops industry by stimulating increased production, attracting investments, strengthening value chains, and expanding domestic and international market opportunities.
Kenya currently faces a significant deficit in nuts and oil crops production, importing approximately 128 million tonnes of nuts, oil crops, and related products annually, while exports stand at only 15 million tonnes. This imbalance underscores the urgent need to strengthen local production capacity and improve the competitiveness of the subsector.
Once implemented, the strategy is expected to increase the availability of raw materials for local processors, support farmers through improved market access, and encourage value addition, ultimately contributing to food security, job creation, and economic growth.
Industry stakeholders who participated in the public consultations emphasized the importance of climate-smart agricultural practices, inclusive business models, improved access to quality planting materials, and enhanced extension services to ensure the success of the strategy.
The finalization and implementation of the Nuts and Oil Crops Strategy 2025–2030 is expected to play a crucial role in transforming the subsector into a major contributor to Kenya’s agricultural economy while reducing dependence on imports.