Bixa (Bixa orellana L.) is a perennial shrub commercially known as ‘Annatto’ and locally known as ‘mrangi’. It grows to a maximum height of 5 metres with single or multiple light brown stems. Its main product is bixin which is a red pigment that is present in a thin pulp layer covering the seed in a pod. Bixin is an organic dye with high solubility in lipids that makes it ideal for wide use in the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and home improvement industries. Its market share for natural food colour is increasing with people’s preference shifting towards organic products.
The crop was introduced in Kenya from Brazil in the early 1960s. Kenya is among the world leading countries in Bixa production; being the second-largest exporter of Bixa after Peru. Bixa is an industrial cash crop that does well in the coastal region. It contributes about 70 per cent of world’s natural dyes. Its market share for natural food colour is increasing with people’s preference shifting towards organic products. The ability of the crop to establish with ease and its great potential in yields can be used to improve the living standard of farmers, the major bixa producing Counties are Kwale, Lamu and Kilifi. Other Counties such as Tana River, Taita taveta, Kitui, Makueni, Machakos and Kakamega have the potential of growing the crop.
Bixa can be grown as a boundary crop along the conservancies to ward off destructive wildlife and prevent invasion of farms thus acting as a buffer crop. The crop provides an opportunity for bee keeping due to its appealing flowers which provide a rich source of nectar for bees. In its green leafy vegetative stage, the crop provides a forest cover thereby making it a carbon sequencing crop.
