THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF A MACADAMIA NUT ORCHARD IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCE OF KENYA

Kenya is the fifth largest producer and exporter of macadamia nuts in the world. It is an important high value export market cash crop mainly produced in the Central and Eastern provinces of Kenya. The average annual production is 25-28 kg per tree which is low compared with the potential yield of 80 kg per tree. In the last two decades, the market price of in-shell nut has been low, causing farmers to neglect the trees. However, the trend in the last two years has changed drastically with the entry of several new players into the market leading to increased demand for in-shell nuts. The socio-economic department at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute – THIKA (KARI-THIKA) carried out a multi-period analysis on the macadamia nut orchard at the institution, to document the economic value of a macadamia nut orchard. The results are discussed in this paper.