Macadamia: Re-Orienting the Global Value Chain to Improve Livelihoods of Kenyan Smallholder Farmers

Macadamia nuts have gained popularity in the snack, health and in the luxury beauty industries. In Kenya, it is a source of income for smallholder farmers and a key foreign exchange earner. With low input requirements for agricultural inputs, macadamia nuts have the potential for poverty reduction among smallholder farmers. However, the collapse of the global macadamia market exposed risks faced by both farmers and nut companies alike. This paper explores how the value chain could be reoriented to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Kenya using Gereffi, Humphrey and Sturgeon’s value chain governance framework.

This document was produced as an assignment for the FPM002 Political Economy of Food module undertaken at the Centre for Food Policy, City St Georges, University of London. The document has been written to address a marking criteria and learning outcomes.