By Marion Achieng

The announcement of planned cocoa processing in Kenya has sparked a rush for cocoa seedlings that has seen KALRO double its seeding price in a single week, from Sh200 to Sh400, and face the prospect of selling out.

KALRO Mtwapa, which has been developing cocoa seedlings for more than three years with sales rising steadily to a few hundred a year, had expected a surge after the government’s mid-July 2026 announcement of a drive to promote local cocoa growing. 

Instead, the centre, which had sold 57 seedlings in June and 99 in July, sold just 26 in August, and threw away thousands of seedlings as excess. However, the announcement, last week, of a proposed cocoa processing facility in Kenya, and the offer, by Chambers Federation, of purchase contracts for farmers from the moment of planting, has now stimulated a flood of purchases.

On September 2nd, one farmer, alone, bought 500 seedlings, said Lucky Tunje of KALRO, Mtwapa, in an interview with FarmBizAfrica. Six months ago, the centre had 5,000 seedlings available, but due to low sales, some were grown on in their orchard and the rest discarded, said Lucky. 

“When the seeding overgrows and you disturb the taproot during the process of transplanting, the chances of it growing into a mature crop successfully is 20 per cent,” he said. 

However, following FarmBizAfrica’s reporting of Chambers Federation’s cocoa buying contracts, there has been a run on the centre’s current seedlings, with requests from across the country.

“Before you published the article, our facility handled very few calls asking about cocoa. In the past week alone, my phone has been buzzing with phone calls of people asking about cocoa seedlings. Some said they read an article and found my number. Some were even asking if they could get the seeds. I received around 40 phone calls of people asking about cocoa.” 

As of 1st Semester, the KALRO centre had 500 to 1,000 seedlings of both Criollo and Forastero varieties of cocoa, but more were being planted at the facility. 

“We are planting more to ensure that when farmers call, we are ready with what they need. When the calls keep coming, we go back to our mother block and harvest as many pods as possible so we can continue the propagation method,” said Lucky. 

It takes them six weeks to two months to have new ones ready. 

For farmers without irrigation, the ideal planting time is during the rainy season. The seedlings then take around two and a half years to start producing pods. 

“If a farmer uses rainfall, they have to wait for the rainy season to plant seedlings, but if they have an irrigation system, they can plant cocoa at any time of the year,” said Lucky.

KALRO sells cocoa seedlings to anyone interested in the crop, including individuals and non-governmental organisations working with farmers. 

“The minimum number of seedlings we sell per farmer is one. We do not have a maximum…When a farmer places an order, we tell them what time to expect it to be accomplished, it is not a straightaway thing,” he said. 

KALRO ships the seedlings through a delivery service provider the farmer chooses and the farmer pays for the shipping cost. 

Farmers can reach KALRO Mtwapa for seedlings orders on +254 792 049971.