Kenya: Coconut and cashews to be cash crops if the bill passes

Coconut and cashew nut farming will qualify for State funding and marketing if President Uhuru Kenyatta assents to a new Bill that seeks to make them cash crops. The Bill passed by the National Assembly last Thursday is aimed at including cashew nut and coconut to the first schedule in the Crops Act of 2013 just like coffee, tea, and sugar cane. If President Kenyatta signs the amendments, the State will be obligated to annually provide funds for the revival of the two sectors, which in the 1970s and 80s were thriving at the coast region. The government will also prescribe the minimum period within which farmers are to be paid for produce delivered to the processors and penalties for delayed payment. Further, the government will also be required to recommend general agreements between farmers and processors, and encourage value addition of the produce before export in a move that could be a big blow to brokers blamed for the collapse of the production of the two crops. Yesterday, ...