Going nuts: How Kilifi coconut farmers are cracking poverty's shell for wealth

In the sun-drenched village of Garithe along Kenya’s Kilifi coast, Getrude Kombora rises before dawn.

For the mother of four and chairperson of the Garithe Mangrove Conservation and Nuts Value Chain Community-Based Organisation (CBO), her daily routine centres on the coconut palm, a tree that has sustained coastal communities for centuries, but has often left them trapped in a cycle of poverty.

For more than a decade, Getrude has tended indigenous East African Tall coconut trees on her family land. These towering 30-metre palms take six to seven years to mature, with harvests occurring every three months.

More than 80 per cent of coastal households depend on coconuts for income or food. “Coconut farming is more than just an agricultural activity in Kilifi County and across Kenya’s coastal region. It supports more than a million people directly and indirectly through the value chain, from farming and harvesting to processing, transportation, and marketing,” says Safari Ziro, Director of Agriculture for Kilifi County.

For many smallholder farmers, especially in rural villages, such as Junju, Magarini, and Ganze, coconut is the primary cash crop. It offers reliable income even in drought-prone areas, as the palms are drought-tolerant and produce nuts year-round.

In homesteads across the coast, nearly every family has coconut trees in their compounds, providing a steady source of revenue that pays school fees, buys food, and covers household needs.

“Here, nuts provide food and drink; the husk and shell are used for fuel, ropes, and handicrafts; the fronds for thatching roofs and making baskets; and the sap for toddy (palm wine),” says Joseph Kithi, a 51-year-old coconut farmer from Magarini.

Despite these benefits, smallholder farmers, such as Getrude have not fully benefited from the “sleeping green gold”. “In the past, returns were meagre as we used to sell nuts in the local market for just Sh6 each,” Getrude recalls. “Now they fetch Sh20 or more, but that is only part of the story.”

Coastal Kenya’s coconut sector holds vast potential, with nearly 10 million trees across Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, and Tana River counties yielding an estimated 300 million nuts annually.

Sector potential

Sera Nzau, Programme Officer at the Micro Enterprise Support Programme Trust (MESPT) responsible for the coastal region, believes that with proper value addition, coconut farming can transform coastal Kenya into a billion-shilling economy. “What is needed is investment in the right seedlings, technologies, and farmer training on smart farming to build resilience against climate shocks,” she explains.

For generations, challenges have slowed progress. Senile trees over 60 years old yield only 50 to 100 nuts per year. Rhinoceros beetles destroy seedlings and flowering stages, while climate change brings erratic rains, saltwater intrusion, and poor market access.

Most farmers sell raw nuts at low prices, often to Tanzanian buyers, leaving communities with minimal profits.

“Market access has been a major challenge for our coconut farmers in Kilifi County. Middlemen and brokers who link farmers to Tanzanian buyers often reap the biggest profits, while farmers receive very little,” says Safari.

Community action

Getrude’s turning point came in 2019 when she helped establish the Garithe Community-Based Organisation. Starting with 25 members, 19 women and six youth, the group aimed to solve market challenges and diversify beyond raw sales. “In the early days, progress was modest,” Getrude says. “We sourced coconuts locally and experimented with basic processing, but volumes remained low.”

The real shift came in 2021 when MESPT partnered with the group through its Green Employment in Agriculture Programme (GEAP). “Companies were closing due to low raw material supply,” says Sera. “Coconuts were declining because of climate change and lack of replanting.”

The organisation trained farmers on market access, business planning, value chain strengthening, and climate-smart agriculture, revitalising Garithe’s economy.

At the CBO production site, women sort fresh nuts and spread crushed coconut meat on solar dryers. The cold-press machine then produces golden virgin coconut oil.

“MESPT’s solar dryers cut drying time and prevent contamination, achieving about 6.82 per cent moisture in just 21 hours — far better than traditional open-sun methods,” Getrude says.

Economic growth

Training has equipped members with skills in good agricultural practices, pest control, financial literacy, and business planning. Farmers have also accessed microfinance loans and high-yield hybrid varieties.

Before the partnership, the group produced around 60 litres of virgin coconut oil monthly. Today, production has risen to 1,600 litres weekly. The cold-pressed, unrefined oil is rich in antioxidants, polyphenols, and vitamin E and sells for Sh600 per litre. “The production surge generates about Sh960,000 in weekly sales,” says Sera. Demand from Somalia now exceeds supply.

The CBO purchases 11 tonnes of nuts weekly from farmers as far as Tana River County, providing a reliable market and increasing upstream incomes.

Joseph Kithi joined the CBO five years ago after struggling with unemployment. The father of 12 now works as a machine operator earning Sh15,000 monthly.

“Before joining the CBO, life was difficult. I struggled to feed my family,” he says. “Now I can take my children to school. Eight are in school, four are in secondary school.”

Improved coconut varieties have also improved production. The Sambuna Indian breed produces faster-growing, stronger seedlings compared to wild varieties.

Women empowerment

Women have been central to this transformation. Mary Kisao, from Ngomeni in Magarini, was a local cashew nut vendor for over four years, earning just Sh2,000 per month.

After joining the CBO, she now earns Sh20,000 per month as the operations manager. “The change has been life-changing,” Mary says. “From barely making ends meet selling cashew nuts, I now have a stable role in a growing enterprise. I have been able to train more women on record keeping, financial management, budgeting, planning, and business operations,” she adds.

Having women in leadership has improved inclusivity. “Women in leadership at the CBO have improved business operations and reduced gender bias,” she notes. “Decisions are more balanced, and everyone feels heard. My dream is to start an extension of the coconut value chain. I have already bought land to establish the business.” For her, coconut processing is proving vital in addressing the biggest challenges facing women in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, where food insecurity and poverty remain major challenges. “Coconut is providing essential economic viability in tackling poverty and climate change-induced challenges,” notes Mary.. 

The CBO employs 42 casual workers, each earning about Sh500 per day, thereby strengthening household food security and resilience.

For Getrude, the impact is personal. Ten coconuts produce one litre of oil sold at a profit of about Sh400 — double the Sh200 earned from selling raw nuts. “The improved earnings have enabled me to pay school fees for my children. Two have already graduated from university,” she says.

County support

Safari says the county is scaling up support through subsidised seedlings, farmer training, and international market certification in partnership with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).

Despite these gains, challenges persist. “Access to finance to expand production remains a major hurdle,” he notes. “The cost of electricity also affects small-scale agripreneurs, making it difficult to run machines efficiently or scale operations.”

Climate change continues to disrupt rainfall patterns and crop growth, while rhinoceros beetles damage seedlings and flowering plants. Indigenous coconut varieties also yield poorly, pushing farmers towards hybrid varieties.

Gender disparities remain. “Coconut farms are mostly owned by men, while women often lack land ownership. This has slowed production and decision-making, especially on family or community-owned land,” Sera explains.

The CBO is diversifying into copra cake animal feed, coconut shell products, and cosmetic oils. However, limited solar dryers restrict full waste utilisation. “To unlock the billion-coconut economy, more investment is needed in hybrids, processing hubs, and inclusive policies,” Sera stresses.Nationally, coconuts remain undervalued, absent from official cash crop lists, and largely unsupported by policy. The stalled Coconut Bill 2021 highlights regulatory gaps.

Yet grassroots success in Garithe shows what targeted investment can achieve, offering a blueprint for transforming Kenya’s coastal coconut economy.