Why Farmers Make More Money With The New Muranga 20 Macadamia Variety

Macadamia farmers in Kenya were a happy lot last year (2019) as the prices went to a high of Sh200 per kilo. But some farmers were smiling more than others. You know which ones those are? They are the farmers who have planted the Muranga 20 variety (MRG-20).


Muranga 20 macadamia nuts: The variety gives high quality nuts

This variety is the best for anyone intending to do commercial macadamia farming anywhere in Kenya. It’s most important advantage is its ability to adapt to any climatic conditions; it can be planted in tea growing areas with an altitude above 1700 m such as Kericho and Meru and thrive just as well as it would in a low altitude area such as Taita Taveta.

According to Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, KALRO, Murang’a 20 macadamia variety is best suited for marginal coffee growing areas with an altitude between 1400 m and 1550 m, and average annual rainfall of over 850 mm and a mean temperature of 20℃ to 21℃.

In these areas, a mature tree produces quality nuts with a yield reaching 100 kgs per tree.

Muranga 20 is fast maturing

Forget the days when you would have to wait for more than 7 years to see your first few nuts. With grafted and certified seedlings of this variety you start harvesting in the third year, each tree giving about 20 kilos of nuts. You can get these seedlings for sale at Richfarm Kenya, Embu nursery or call 0724698357 to have them delivered to your farm.

muranga 20 macadamia farming kenya
A bunch of Muranga 20 Macadamia nuts growing Kenya

The recommended spacing for macadamia trees is 8×8 m with which an acre accommodates about 70 trees. However, due to the fast maturing nature of grafted Muranga 20 seedlings, some farmers plant them with a spacing of 4×4 m, getting about 260 trees in an acre.

Such farmers enjoy 4 times the yield compared to those who start off with the recommended 8×8 m spacing, for about 10 years. During this time, the farmers maintain the trees’ productivity and health through regular pruning. When the trees grow very big forming canopies that prevent proper orchard aeration, the farmer then thins off the trees by removing the weak, diseased or unproductive ones.

High Quality Nuts


The Nut Traders Association of Kenya (NUTAK) chairman is on record saying they are ready to pay as high as ksh300 per kilo of macadamia if the farmers produce quality nuts.

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This is something that farmers can well achieve by planting Muranga 20. Due to its vigour in growth and its ability to adapt to the climate, this variety produces high quality nuts irrespective of how the weather turns out.

Varieties such as Kiambu 3 and Embu 1 are high producers but need a lot of water to give high quality nuts. In case of reduced rains, farmers with these varieties are forced to irrigate or risk losing out in the market because of quality issues.

High profit


Now with over 30 registered buyers of raw macadamia in Kenya, macadamia farming is no longer a risky bet. It is a sure investment option. Richfarm Kenya have a package in which you invest Ksh40,000 in an acre of macadamia. They will plant and take care of 80 trees for 3 months to ensure they are well established.

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Since macadamia trees have a lifespan of over 100 years, this becomes a lifetime investment from which you earn without much involvement since the trees are hardy and do not demand daily attention as is with short term crops.

Murang’a County Makes Bill To Protect Avocado Farmers

Hass avocado farmers contracted by Sasini: Sasini is a major player in Avocado farming in Kenya

Hass avocado farming has become an important economic activity in Kenya with the country being ranked as the third largest exporter of the fruit in the world and the first in Africa.

Murang’a County has been one of richest avocado farming areas in the country and now becomes the first to formulate a bill that will lock out unscrupulous brokers and cartels and protect the farmers of the green gold.  

Through the proposed law, The County Avocado Production and Marketing Bill 2020, the county government of Murang’a will create a department that will regulate the avocado farming sector through registration and licensing of fruit buyers and other key players in the value chain.

How farmers will benefit


The proposed law seeks to give the county government the powers to impose a total ban on avocado harvesting by defining harvesting dates. This will protect immature fruits from being harvested. Immature fruits have been hurting the reputation of Kenyan avocado in the international market and affecting the price of the produce.

According to the draft, all avocado buyers in the county will be forced to pay farmers according to the grade they produce rather than an average price per fruit as they have been doing.

The bill also proposes that all avocado farming contracts designed for the farmers must be vetted by the county government. This will ensure that the farmers’ rights are not violated by the buying companies.

All nursery operators will be required to buy seedlings from producers that have been approved by the county government. With this, the farmers will be sure that they are getting quality seedlings.

The taskforce created to enforce this law will have the power to arrest and prosecute anyone who flaunts these regulations. If found on the wrong, one will face a fine of Sh2 million or a jail term not exceeding two years.

Why Macadamia Is the Cash Crop to Farm in Kenya in 2023 and Beyond

A few years back, no one could imagine that macadamia farming in Kenya would one day be as rewarding as it is now. A few macadamia trees would stand in homesteads essentially to provide shade only. Every season, children would crack a few of the nuts that fell off the trees and then leave the rest to rot away.

Fast forward to the period between 2015 and 2020 and the economics and trade around this crop have dramatically changed. The brown nuts that were being left rot are now gold, fetching as high as Ksh 220 per kg in 2019.

Macadamia farming in Kenya

Why macadamia prices are on the rise

Over 95% of all the macadamia nuts produced in Kenya are sold in the export market. Europe and China are the largest importers of Kenyan macadamia and part of the produce is also being sold in the USA. These markets are lucrative and their demand for the nuts is insatiable.

Currently, there are over 30 macadamia processing companies in Kenya all competing to buy the few nuts that the Kenyan farmers are producing. Most of the produce is actually from the few trees that were planted many years back. 

Although there is a significant increase in the number of farmers who have taken up commercial farming of macadamia in Kenya, the production is still way below the demand by the processing companies, and the competition has seen the prices soar up fast.

In the previous years, farmers gave absolutely no attention to macadamia trees. As a result, when the market for the nuts started opening up, the quality of the produce getting to the factories was low. Now that the farmers have seen the profitability of this crop, they have turned their attention to improving quality. Prices have then risen to be commensurate with the rising quality.

Demand for Kenyan macadamia continues to increase abroad

The global macadamia market is projected to grow by 6.6% between this year 2020 and the year 2025 according to global market intelligence firm Mordor. This is because there is an increasing number of consumers who now prefer the nuts as a healthy snack as opposed to junk and fast foods.

Macadamia nuts are also used in the food industry, especially in the production of confectionaries. By the way, my best chocolate is the one with nuts inside and if you have eaten this type, you perfectly understand why.

The nuts are also used in the production of beverages, cosmetics and personal care products.

Why macadamia farming is the business of the moment


Many parts of Kenya have an ideal climate for growing macadamia. It is a thriving crop in Murang’a, Embu and Meru and it is now spreading to Bungoma and Taita Taveta Counties through the effort and support by their county governments.

Macadamia farming is not delicate: there are no strict spray programs and no harassing pests and diseases. It is one of the least labour intensive types of farming. A farmer mainly requires manure and water and occasional pruning which doesn’t need a high level of skill.

With the national government keen on developing macadamia farming as a major foreign exchange earner for Kenya, the future is looking bright. China is an emerging market and Kenya is making efforts to capture this market in an effort to balance the value of imports from China with exports to the country.

If you would like further information about macadamia farming in Kenya, call us on 0724698357 or email info@richfarmkenya.com. We are always happy to serve you. 

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Why Solo Sunrise Is the Most Popular Pawpaw Variety in Kenya and the World

As pawpaw farming and consumption in Kenya increases, farmers and consumers of the fruit now have the luxury of choosing the best among the several varieties available in the country. It is not surprising to see that solo sunrise variety has emerged as the most popular since this is also the trend all over the world. But do so many people love these small papayas?

solo pawpaw farming in Kenya
Solo Sunrise pawpaw farm belonging to Agatha in Ishiara, Embu County

Outstanding characteristics of solo pawpaw

1. Ideal size

Actually, the small size of the fruits of the solo sunrise pawpaw variety is one of the reasons why it is loved. Each fruit is about 250-500g. That makes it ideal for someone to consume the entire fruit in one sitting. Would you want to eat a pawpaw fruit that was cut yesterday? Of course not; so if you were to choose, you would most likely take the small fruit.

2. Very sweet

Honestly, I am yet to taste a variety of pawpaw that is sweeter than solo sunrise here in Kenya. Before this variety was imported into the country, mountain pawpaw used to be the people’s choice. However, no one ever goes back to mountain pawpaw after tasting the solo sweetness.

3. Red attractive colour

Is it just me who finds red to be more attractive than yellow? Certainly not, especially when it comes to fruits. Just imagine walking into a fresh fruit joint where they have prepared fruit puddings: in one package they have used yellow pawpaw and in another they have red pawpaw pieces. Which one would you go for? Many people make their choices from what they see and that is one reason the solo pawpaw is popular world over.

solo sunrise pawpaw farming in Zambia
Solo sunrise pawpaw fruits: Harvested by John Tembo in Lusaka, Zambia

4. The long shelf life

Nothing is heartbreaking as picking a pawpaw you are so eager to munch only for your fingers to go right into the fruit flesh. Well that is a disappointment you won’t get with solo sunrise. These fruits have a firm flesh and ripe fruits will remain good for consumption for as long as 14 days. Of course this is something that is subject to temperatures as fruits tend to ripen faster in hot areas.

Solo Sunrise Is Popular Among Farmers Too


The solo variety is an impressive performer in the farm. Consumers are lucky that it serves them right; otherwise farmers would have pushed it down their throats. This variety has all the characteristics a farmer would want in a pawpaw:

1. It bears many fruits

One solo pawpaw tree can carry over 100 fruits in a year. That means money, and a lot of it, for the farmer, especially if they are selling their produce per piece. It also assures the farmer a constant weekly harvest because at least one fruit will be ripening within a week. Varieties with big fruits have fewer fruits per tree and these fruits a long take time to ripen and when they ripen, there is an overproduction.

solo sunrise pawpaw farming in Embu, Kenya
Solo sunrise pawpaw farming in Kenya: Agatha in Embu County

2. Production is throughout the year

The solo variety does not produce fruits in seasons. Once you start harvesting, you will have a constant supply of fruits every week. This is better realized when you are irrigating your trees during the very dry season.

3. The trees are hardy and with a long lifespan

There was an interesting reaction the other day when I posted a photo on Facebook with a hammock tied on pawpaw trees. Many people did not imagine a pawpaw tree could be strong enough to support a hammock. Well, the solo sunrise pawpaw tree is. This hardiness is also realized in pest and disease resistance. And because of this characteristic, the trees can live and produce fruits for over 4 years.

4. Solo sunrise variety does not have male trees

This is a self-pollinating variety. That means all the trees produce edible fruits. That is why the production of this variety of pawpaw in terms of tonnage per acre is higher than the other varieties that have both male and female trees and you have to keep some male trees in your orchard for pollination.

I know the question in your mind now is “where can I get solo sunrise fruits?” or “where can I get the seeds so I can plant for myself?” Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered on that and all you need to do is Contact Us. We also have ready seedling for planting and you can call or WhatsApp us on 0724698357 to order. If you want guidance on pawpaw farming, go to our Farmers Resources Page and download a FREE pawpaw farming guide in pdf. 

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