Innovation in the Macadamia Industry

The macadamia industry in Malawi is facing a turning point. For over 40 years private estates have exported this high-value nut into the international market, but as innovation of the plant and handling of the crop finds its way forward, the smallholder sector of Malawi has a unique opportunity to take the knowledge and experience of the private estates and join a growing industry.
Since macadamia left its native Australia to be commercialized the world over, it has been adapted into vastly different regions with changing climate and quality of soil. In Malawi the clones planted in millions of hectares are coming from Australia and Hawaii, but now local researchers are looking to evolve the plant into a variety that works best in the specific conditions of Malawi.
Two specific key issues identified in this region are the size of the trees and their susceptibility to an insect, the Batheocuelia sp. Reducing the size of trees, or dwarfing, is considered the outmost objective in plant evolution for macadamia farmers around the world. A smaller tree can allow for better management, as insecticides can be sprayed all over, plus the quality of the nuts can be increased with dwarfing rootstock. Small trees also mean that other crops that are grown in between orchards will have more space and time in the sunlight.
Clonal adaptation is an increasingly important area of advancement in the industry; right now the smallholder sector is expanding and planting new orchards, if the trees they plant, which will produce nuts for the next 30 years, are better adapted to the climate and conditions of the land, the volume of nuts in shell could increase to up to 40% from what it is today. It is imperative, then, to speed up varietal trials and produce them in nurseries at a country-wide level. So far a project funded by Irish Aid has explored crossing dwarf varieties of macadamia with the most productive of the existing varieties in Malawi.
The desired outcome for future trees are ones that have small stature that prove more drought resistance and give thicker shells, thus making the extra 40% kernel recovery. Climate change has so far impacted Malawi with vast variation in weather; the hot seasons are hotter, the dry seasons are dryer, and the rainy seasons tend to be so heavy that crops are washed away. By having smaller, sturdier and drought resistant varieties, most of the weather conditions can be sustained.

The reason behind a thicker shell is to make trees more resistant to Batheocuelia sp.; this insect is adapted to penetrate through the fruit and shell of the nut and eat away the insides. It is hard to tell which nuts have been affected, thus much work is lost in harvesting nuts that when cracked turn out to be spoiled. This pest tends to hide high above, in the taller trees, thus avoiding ground-based sprayers.
At an estate level, pests are being controlled through an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system, however this is now antiquated and impossible to implement on a smallholder level. Thus, new ways of pest management are being explored, but for this it is key to have smaller trees.
One major bottleneck of the industry is found at a nursery level, when new trees are grafted. This process is cumbersome and stresses the plant, which then tends to produce less when it matures. Researchers in the smallholder sector have looked at establishing rootstocks and then grafting the trees in the field. This approach speeds up the process and allows for better growing of each tree.
Finally, the system of crop buying by cooperatives needs to be based on the quality of the kernels, this way farmers will get the right message about the importance of better handling their harvests and implementing pest control. Moreover, farmers who are looking into starting an orchard will be offered better options and be advised on how to control pests and manage their investment. This growing industry can multiply its potential by allowing scientific innovation.

By Lorena Fernandez

A Step-by-step of the Strategic Plan

The Malawi macadamia industry is going to experience a production increase over the next decade as orchards continue to grow in rural farms throughout the country. In order to manage this growth and maximize the potential for return, representatives of every sector of the industry got together to draft a plan of action. The Strategic Plan, which will be implemented from 2012 to 2020, has as its purpose to integrate smallholder farmers into the export-based macadamia industry in a way that is commercially viable and to establish support mechanisms that will carry the industry forward for the next 20 years.

There are four objectives in the Strategic Plan. The first objective is a upright arrow in charts of productivity, profitability and sustainability. For each of these margins to grow it is imperative to first know what is happening on the ground. Thus, there will be data collection through surveys and individual farm reports. This information will then be used to creat a Comprehensive Bench Marking report with all the details of the current practices throughout the industry.

Since productivity is directly linked with the variety of trees and the methods used to care for them, it is necessary to invest at the nursery level. One of the strategies to attain the first objective is to develop specific varieties of macadamia trees suited for the climate, resistant to local pests, and dwarfed for better managing of the crop. Nurseries capable of propagating new clones will then offer farmers these trees, along with information of how to care for them. It is important for farmers to know more about the crop, thus the Strategic Plan includes establishing information portals, training services both on and off site, and advice to new growers so that they can make well-informed decisions in setting up their orchards.

The second objective of the plan is aimed specifically at smallholder farmers, represented through the Highland Macadamia Cooperative Union Limited (HIMACUL). The objective is to provide an enabling environment that can allow farmers to establish themselves as an integral part of the industry. Direct investment in infrastructure is needed if the volume of nuts is to grow in this sector, so two post-harvest centres will be built and equipped. To give incentive to farmers who handle and manage their crops well, a quality-based buying system will be put into place, and the second grade nuts that cannot be exported will go into the national market, for which the plan will explore ways to develop commercialisation of the product and it derivatives. HIMACUL will be invited and represented at industry committees, as well as presented with annual assessments and statistics of production. This way smallholders will be recognised as an official part of the industry.

The third objective is to secure the industry’s position as a world-class macadamia exporter. Building the volume of production is essential for this objective, and to secure that volume as a reliable base all of the 3rd party growers will be registered. The complete registry will have contact details so that training events and information can be sent and best practices spread evenly amongst farmers. Another strategy will be to seek certifications such as Fair Trade, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance in order to access niche markets. Also, the plan will implement commercialisation of macadamia by-products, which will maximize the value of the crop, give better understanding of macadamia within the industry, and thus strengthen the overall business model.

The fourth and final objective is the key to achieving all other objectives and move the industry forward: to develop an industry-wide capacity to manage the growth. This will be achieved in several ways, the first of which entails setting up a committee that can keep track of the advancements being made and explore ways of overcoming challenges. Next is the selection and training of human resources, as well as identifying candidates to be sent for advanced training on weaknesses currently affecting the industry. Finally, an key to the implementation of the Strategic Plan is to find interested donors to fund these advancements, and to develop a long-term funding plan.

By Lorena Fernandez

A smallholder perspective of the Malawian Macadamia Industry

Malawian farmers are on the edge of a promising investment. The crunchy, smooth, white spheres have the potential to change the landscape and mentality of rural Malawi; all they need is the reassurance that macadamia nuts are as tasty to people around the world as they are to the village children who sneak around the orchards for a quick snack.

In the international market, macadamia are amongst the highest-priced nuts. Their popularity took them around the globe from their native Australia, where they started being commercialized only 70 years ago. The greatest bulk in production still comes from Australia and Hawaii, yet the crop has found a home in Malawi, which is now the fifth largest producer of macadamia in the world.

In the southern region of Malawi, rolling hills of intense green tea fields make up the country scenery. Around the tea fields, estate owners began planting macadamia orchards more than 50 years ago, and today thousands of hectares are shaded with sturdy trees that once a year drop as many as 8000 metric tonnes of nuts in shell. The private sector has its limitations, however, and land availability is one of them.

 The majority of the population in Malawi, often cited as one of the poorest countries in the world, engages in subsistence farming. Each farmer divides his land to grow the crops his family needs for food, and leaves aside some space to grow what are known as cash crops; things that he can sell to get a few goods that he can’t get from the land. Traditionally, the most important cash crop in Malawi has been tobacco, but people also grow cotton, rice, and soya. Since the popularity of tobacco has declined in world markets, the government of Malawi has been looking for diversification crops. It was in this capacity that in 2000 the government began to encourage farmers to grow macadamia, yet failed to provide a platform where farmers could take the nuts and sell them, like the tobacco auction floors that farmers are familiar with.

Most of the macadamia estates are located in the southern district of Thyolo, yet the biggest expanse of land with the best altitude and climate conditions to grow this crop has been identified in the northern region of the country, as well as large pockets of the central region. Smallholder farmers in these parts began planting macadamia over 10 years ago, but have kept their crops small, as they are dependent on large estates to process and export their harvests. Macadamia has the potential to assume a leading role as part of a portfolio of diversification crops; furthermore, it can gain weight in the world market by complimenting private estates with smallholder groups to improve the national production in quality and volume.

For the past four years Equal Exchange has supported smallholder farmers in developing, handling, selling and increasing their macadamia crops. Today this sector of the industry is expanding at a rate of 72,000 new trees per year, with a total of 350,000 trees established in the last decade. The estate sector counts with over a million trees, yet they have little room for expansion. However, it is the estates that own, run, and have the experience of efficiently running processing plants, plus decades of knowledge and experience in growing, harvesting and handling the crop. A partnership, then, is beneficial to both sides. The macadamia industry needs to adopt a long-term approach in order to manage the potential and real growth at a national level.

With this in mind, representatives of each sector got together and wrote, on behalf of the Malawian Macadamia Industry and with support from Irish Aid and the Business Innovation Facility, the first Strategic Plan from 2012 to 2020. The purpose of the Strategic Plan is to integrate smallholder macadamia farmers into the commercial, export-based industry in a suitable and commercially viable manner. To achieve this, they will concentrate on four objectives: The first is to improve on productivity, profitability and sustainability. The second is to provide smallholders with an environment that will allow them to be a viable part of the industry. Third, to secure the Malawi Macadamia industry position as a world-class exporter. And the fourth objective is to give industry-wide capacity to manage the growth.

There are common challenges in the estate and smallholder sectors that need to be addressed simultaneously for the industry to prosper. The transfer of knowledge from older generations, the implementation of systems to control local pests, and the upkeep of new technology and innovations are amongst these challenges.

As part of the first objective, for example, the quality of the harvest will be an area of concentration. Macadamia nuts go through a grading process to ensure only the best get exported. Currently about 60% of the smallholder’s crop is deemed grade A and sold for export, yet this margin could be raised to 75% simply by improving warehouses where the nuts are stored and training farmers on better ways of handling the nuts after harvest. The volume of production from smallholders is projected to double in the next three years from 250MT to 500MT of nuts in shell as the number of trees increases and more trees reach maturity and begin to produce fruit. If these projections are to happen, it is indispensable to invest in infrastructure and give training to farmers.

Nonetheless, the nuts that are deemed grade B don’t go to waste, at least not in the smallholder sector. Macadamias have, as with people the world over, enthralled Malawian palates, especially those of young children. In March, at the height of the harvest – which unfortunately coincides with the so-called hungry season in Malawi – children like to venture into the orchards and crack macadamias for a quick snack. Theft is, of course, a growing concern for farmers and estates alike, yet it represents no more than 5% of the harvest and can usually be kept in check in rural areas with a stern warning at the local primary school. As the volume of production increases, theft is likely to become a smaller problem, as there is only so much the local community can consume.

Since the introduction of macadamia as a cash crop, this most nutritious nut has made a slow but sure entry into the local diet. These are particularly healthy nuts because of their high levels of monosaturated fats and calcium, which are otherwise lacking in the traditional Malawian diet. As the taste for macadamia continues to grow in Malawi, people find new ways to incorporate the nut into their food. Some have started to use macadamias as they do peanuts; pounding them and using the flour to flavour vegetable dishes. Others fry them or roast them over the fire, and through Equal Exchange some communities are arranging to get equipment to make oil with the nuts.

Macadamia is also an easier crop to tend to than any of the other cash crops. Farmers call it the retirement cash crop, because once a tree has reached maturity it will, with a little attention to pests and perhaps some organic fertilizer, continue to grow bigger and give more fruit every year. A macadamia tree can produce an annual harvest for as many as 30 years.

Still, some farmers are wary of this investment; they’ve sat and watched their neighbours plant macadamia. After all, there are risks involved. The first risks come from within the farm: a lack of knowledge in pest management and post-harvest handling can leave a farmer with less than 20% of sellable kernel. The pest populations are not controlled naturally by the winter as they are in other places, because in Malawi the winter does not reach freezing points. Plus, there is the risk of fire; many farmers plant other crops like maize around their trees, and to clear the fields for a new planting season they often set fire to the plot, putting their orchards in danger. While there are ways to prevent each of these risks, there are other menaces that are beyond the control of the farmer. A shortage of foreign currency in Malawi has put in jeopardy businesses and investments across the board, plus a shortage and increasing price for fuel makes transport unreliable to get the product to the nearest ports in Mozambique – Malawi is landlocked – and finally, the fluctuation of world prices of this commodity puts at risk the profitability of the crop.

In recent years, however, the return on macadamia in the export market has kept enviable records, and as of now the Malawian industry has a good reputation of exporting a high-quality product. Over 75% of Malawian macadamia exports go to the United States, Japan and Europe.

There is a promising future for this crop in Malawi, and those who invest in developing this industry, from farmers to estates and international partners, are venturing into a business that can have profound changes in the agriculture of the country.

By Lorena Fernandez

Macadamia from a smallholders perspective

Festus Mzembe considers himself a pioneer of macadamia farming in Nchenachena, a remote village in the northern region of Malawi. Up here, where the undulation of the highlands traps its fertile land at odd angles, a dedicated farmer can grow just about any crop that exists in the country. Mzembe, together with a few dozen farmers in the area, took the advice of government agronomists back in 2001 and introduced macadamia to their gardens.

There are exactly 101 trees scattered amongst maize, beans, cassava, and banana. Walking around his property on a cloudy day, Mzembe examines each tree, clearing the weeds around its roots and studying the bees that come for the nectar of the macadamia flowers. “When it was introduced, we thought this crop would take the place of tobacco,” he says staring up at the tall branches of one of his trees, “but macadamia is a crop of patience.”

Further south, the buzz of macadamia as a high-value cash crop has caught the attention of farmers in Nchisi, in the central region of Malawi. There are over 1,200 farmers growing the retirement crop, as macadamia is known in the area.

Farmers like Erias Samson Kapacasa are counting on the crunchy white nuts for when their bodies are too tired to tend to more demanding crops. Kapacasa has 200 trees in his property; macadamia is his pension, he says.

Malawi is a country of subsistence farmers; people eat what they grow on their land and keep a few crops to sell so they can get basic goods such as salt, sugar, and soap.
Tobacco has been for many generations the most popular cash crop in Malawi, but in the last few years prices in the world market have plummeted, and so the government has looked for other crops to export.

In 2001 the Malawian government introduced macadamia to smallholder farmers, and promised it would provide a market where these high-valued nuts could be sold. Around Nchenachena, where altitude and climate conditions are perfect for the crop, dozens of farmers planted trees and patiently waited for three years until the first fruits fell to the ground. “We de-husked the nuts and got them ready to sell, but there was no market for them, and as we waited the nuts went bad,” remembers Mzembe.

Other farmers, like Mazoe Gondwe, were given trees of another variety, which took between seven and 10 years to give fruit. She saw the trees get bigger and take space in her garden, but no fruits came, so she chopped them down for wood and planted other crops. “We were so disappointed,” she said bitterly, “no one came to buy the nuts and we didn’t know what to do with them, it wasn’t a food we were familiar with, so even in the local market no one bought them.”

Just as the governmental macadamia programme was coming to its end and farmers seemed ready to give up and try another crop, a trading company called Equal Exchange provided funding for the programme to continue and organized local cooperatives that could provide farmers with a platform to sell their harvests. These cooperatives are gaining members every year, which in turn has made the smallholder macadamia sector a promising enterprise.

In 2008, Mzembe was approached by his friend Luca Thirembo. It was time to revive the macadamia trees that up in Nchenachena farmers had almost forgotten about. Thirembo was part of a local team of agronomists funded by Equal Exchange who wanted to encourage farmers to go back to the macadamia orchards. When planting macadamia, smallholder farmers are not just looking out for their own crop and benefit; they are part of the bigger industry, and they need other farmers in their own communities to have prosperous macadamia harvests in order to secure the sale of their own. Cooperatives have committed themselves to buying all of the nuts in shell that farmers bring in, and the more volume and quality the cooperatives can deliver to processing plants owned by macadamia estates, the more the estate owners will trust smallholders to become part of the bulk volume of processed nuts.

“It has not been easy to convince farmers,” admits Thirembo. There are still grudges around the unkept promises that were first made when macadamia was introduced in Nchenachena, and farmers have told Thirembo and his colleagues that they need incentives to be brought back into macadamia. In response, they have set up loan schemes that allows farmers to get a minimum of 50 trees from the nursery and pay back in installments.

In 2010 there were 174 farmers in Nchenachena who had fruit-bearing macadamia trees. Today that number has swollen to 375, and although this is still a small number compared to the 1,200 of Nchisi, the altitude and climate of the northern uplands is perfect for the crop, thus results are bound to convince more farmers.

At the peak of the harvest season, which in the north happens around March, farmers keep a lookout for one of the biggest threats to their macadamia crops: naughty children. Since the introduction of macadamia in the area, these healthy nuts have become a favourite snack for the local population, and have even been introduced as ingredients to some of the more traditional vegetable dishes. Macadamia nuts have high levels of monosaturated fat and calcium, two nutrients that are otherwise scarce in the local diet.

The future of macadamia in the region is with farmers who are not holding back and have a firm belief in their investment. Emmanuel Mkandawire is regarded in the community as one of the hardest-working farmers. His three acres of land are neatly divided to accommodate just about every crop that can be grown in Malawi: maize, cassava, soya beans, sugarcane, wheat, sweet potatoes, coffee, and a variety of fruits including oranges, banana, avocado, papaya, pineapple, and tomato. In addition, he has 900 macadamia trees, and though at the moment he makes more money selling tomatoes than any other crop, Mkandawire keeps a close eye on his macadamia trees: “I know this will be my best crop.”

By Lorena Fernandez

First Strategic Plan for the Malawian Macadamia Industry Developed

Over the past year a strategic plan has been developed for the macadamia industry in Malawi, the public document has been released although details and next steps are being developed further. The theme of the plan which proposed what needs to be done in the industry:


‘to integrate smallholder macadamia farmers into the commercial export based macadamia industry in a sustainable and commercially viable manner, establish the necessary capacity and support mechanisms to carry the industry as a whole forward for the next 20 years.’

The above photo was taken in November at the strategic planning meeting held at Thyolo Sports Club it represents the first time that the whole industry and wider stakeholders have met to discuss the future of the industry.

This will be achieved through achieving the following objectives:

1. Build grower productivity, profitability &  sustainability
2. Provide an enabling environment for smallholders to become a viable component of the industry
3. Secure the industries position as a world class macadamia exporter
4. Develop Industry Wide capacity to manage the growth of the Industry

the team developing the plan are seeking resources to take the work forward further details on this plan can be obtained by sending a request to the blog

FLO Inspection Audit

FLO performed the initial audit on HIMACUL between the 26-30 June and have received the report, many thanks to the auditor and FLO for the timely audit and feedback. A number of actions were recommended all relating to the new level 2 structure of HIMACUL, the organisation is young and still developing its role it is hoped that this process will help develop the second tier organisation further. Several follow up meetings have already taken place and agreement reached on how to respond to the recommendations.

End of TLC project

The year long consultancy contract with Total Land Care Kulera Biodiversity Project is coming to a close, much has been achieved over the past 12 months including rearing another 55,000 trees. The project focused on capacity development both of HIMACUL staff and farmers with training's on all aspects of macadamia infield care, post harvest management and nurturing a better understanding amongst leaders of the nature of the macadamia business. Trips were undertaken between the constituent organisations and to Thyolo to see an operational factory and estate.

TLC have granted a short extension to this project to enable some of the activities to be fully completed and ensure preparations for the planting season remain on track. Many thanks for you continued support

HIMACUL Launch

The official launch of HIMACUL took place on the 26th of July at the community grounds in Ntchisi. The event attended by over 500 including members, stakeholders and government officials went very well raising awareness of the organisation and crop in the central region. Although this event has been delayed a number of times due to external issues we all congratulate the organizing committee and all those who contributed and attended the event a big thanks. I will post photos as they become available