South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal banana farmers go nuts for macadamia farming

Several banana farmers in the country are switching to macadamia farming, an industry which some believe offers slightly higher profit margins and is less wobbly. For KwaZulu-Natal in particular, the demand for bananas has been impacted by competing countries such as Mozambique and Swaziland, which is both banana-growing regions. According to James Miller, chairman of the KwaZulu-Natal Banana Company, there is worldwide a growing demand for macadamia nuts. This demand has seen a number of South African farmers shift to macadamia nut farming, including him. The demand patterns have seen him convert 50% of his farm to macadamias, keeping the remainder as a banana plantation. Miller said if farmers are not exclusively changing to macadamia production, then they are combing with other agricultural produce. “Around 80% of banana farmers by volume on the KZN South Coast are members of the KwaZulu-Natal Banana Company. Most of these farmers have planted sections of their farm to ...