The nuts and oil crops sub-sector contributes 1.2 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 4.5 per cent to the Agricultural GDP (Economic Survey 2021). The sub-sector has huge potential towards food and nutrition security as well as manufacturing. The sub-sector also contributes significantly to job creation, income, and foreign exchange earnings. Despite the high potential, the acreage and productivity of most nuts and oil crops remain low. Consequently, Kenya relies heavily on imported edible oil and in 2021 the country imported KES. 115 billion worth of the commodity (AFA-NOCD Yearbook of Statistics 2021).
The country aims to achieve self-sufficiency and import substitution through increased production and productivity of Oil crops such as sunflower, canola, soya, and coconut. In this regard, the Directorate is implementing, an edible oil crops promotion project to bridge the production deficit among other interventions by industry players.
There are 13 scheduled nuts and oil crops namely; Cashew, Coconut, Sesame(Simsim), Sunflower, Macadamia, Canola(Rape Seed), Peanuts, Oil Palm, Bambara nuts, Jojoba, Safflower, Castor, and Linseed. Until the Gazettement of the Crops (Nuts and Oil Crops).
