Others
There are other nuts and oil crops of less significance in volume, acreage and value. These nuts and oil crops include: Bambara nuts, Sunflower, Sesame (Simsim) and Canola.
Bambara Groundnuts
Bambara nut is an indigenous African crop considered a complete food as it contains sufficient quantities of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. In addition to the food, it provides a beneficial farming system advantage of its potential to fix nitrogen in the soil.
The Bambara groundnuts are mainly grown in the Western, Nyanza and Coastal regions. Substantial amounts are obtained from Busia, Vihiga and Kakamega, Bungoma and Siaya Counties. The estimated acreage is 209 hectares and the yield 527 MT. The farm gate prices average Ksh 370/Kg while market prices average Ksh 381 /Kg across various market outlets in the country (NOCD Yearbook of Statistics 2022).
Sunflower
Sunflower farming has dwindled over the years, due to high domestic production costs and stiff competition from imports. There are however, pockets of sunflower across the country primarily grown for production of animal feeds. In a few instances farmers are also cultivating sunflower for oil production at cottage level.
The commonly grown variety is Kenya Fedha because of its high protein content and drought tolerance compared to other varieties. Farmers also prefer the Kenya Fedha because it is readily available and open pollinated hence can be recycled in succeeding seasons. The area under sunflower is about 2,045 hectares yielding 482 MT valued at KES 16.5 million (NOCD Yearbook of Statistics 2022). To address the low production, the Directorate is rolling out a promotional programme for provision of subsidized inputs and value addition machinery.
Sesame (Simsim)
Sesame is predominantly grown in the Coastal and Western regions of the country with Lamu county being the leading producer. Production has stagnated due to poor agricultural practices and lack of variety selection. The total area under the crop was about 5,391 Hectares and the yield was 3,454 MT.
The total production volume was 2,861.8 tons valued at KES. 255.09 million respectively. The crop is also projected to grow in popularity as a source of high-quality edible oil.
Canola
Canola is an oil crop mainly grown in high altitude areas such as Meru, Nakuru, Narok and Laikipia Counties. The production is mainly undertaken by large scale farmers preferred for its huge benefits in soil improvement. The crop is used for rotation with wheat, maize and barley. In the recent past, the main processing company has contracted small scale farmers to supplement raw material supplies from their own farms.
The total production of canola was 14,594 MT valued at KES. 811 million from an estimated acreage of 4,381 Hectares. There has been increased demand for locally produced edible oil as a result of supply chain disruption from international sources in Asia. The prices in the subsector are not competitive as the crop is only sold to one major processing company which contracts farmers across the country for use in margarine and vegetable oil production
