Groundnuts

Most farmers in Kenya are now embracing high value crops and groundnuts is not left behind. Nationally, area under production as at 2021 is 13,118Ha and production being 13,107MT. Main varieties in Kenya are the runner type and the Red Valencia Groundnuts are mainly grown in Western Kenya by small scale farmers for both food and sale. Homa Bay County Production in 2021 was 7,048 MT from and area of 7,529Ha across the county. The current growers yield is 8 bags(90kgs) an acre against a potential growers yield of 15 bags(90kgs) per acre which can be achieved through improvement of husbandry practices. The county government of Homabay has prioritised groundnut as one of their key value chains promoted in the county. SHEP Biz project is being implemented in Homa Bay Town, Rangwe, Ndhiwa, Rachuonyo North and Rachuonyo South Sub counties. The project aims at promoting ground nut value chain in Homa Bay county due to its potential in upscaling production leading to increased processing and marketing. The key focus is on promoting the processing of groundnut within Homa Bay to address lack of quality peanut butter that is certified by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KEBS). SHEP Biz in collaboration with the County Government of Homa Bay and other stakeholders, is in the verge of ensuring that farmers involved in processing of groundnut into butter are able to get the certification to produce quality and certified products to be sold in markets and large store shelves. There is a value chain platform that is responsible to coordinate the platform activities in order to improve the efficiency of the value chain. The platform consists of a Chairman and his Assistant, the Secretary and assistant, treasurer, Organizing Secretary and 3 ex-officio members working together to strengthen each node along the groundnut value chain thereby addressing the challenges faced by each node. This is done with the coordination of the County Government at the department of Agriculture through the County Director’s Office.