Производство джекфрута в Кении выросло почти в 95 раз за два года

Jackfruit production in Kenya jumped nearly 95-fold between 2023 and 2025, driven by expanding cultivation and growing interest in a fruit with multiple food uses and value-addition potential. Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) data shows output rose from 67 tonnes in 2023 to 1,018 tonnes in 2024, before reaching 6,364.1 tonnes last year. The area under jackfruit also increased from 29 hectares in 2023 to 140.1 hectares in 2025, while the crop’s generated value rose from Sh6.7 million to Sh635.6 million. The expansion comes as farmers and researchers increasingly explore underutilised fruits for food, income and processing, with jackfruit offering several uses beyond its traditional fresh consumption. The ripe fruit is eaten fresh or processed into juice, jam, jelly, candies, dried chips and other products, while immature fruit can be cooked or pickled. Its seeds are also edible after boiling or roasting and can be dried and milled into flour for bread, biscuits, cakes, noodles and other processed foods. India is the world's largest producer of jackfruit, growing about 1.4 million metric tonnes each year. Other top producers include Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, and Nepal. In Kenya, Busia County grows the highest amount of jackfruit, accounting for approximately 65 percent of the country's total production. Researchers say jackfruit seeds contain substantial starch, protein and dietary fibre, increasing interest in their use as ingredients while reducing waste from fruit-processing. Kenya has previously explored commercialising the fruit through value addition, with authorities identifying processing as a way of reducing losses and transport costs associated with bulky fresh fruit. The sharp increase in Kenya’s reported production, however, comes from a relatively small base, and will require sustained markets and processing capacity to scale. The growth also comes as Kenya’s wider fruit industry continues expanding, with total fruit production value rising from Sh83.71 billion in 2021 to Sh111.88 billion in 2025. Established crops continue to dominate the sector, with bananas generating Sh35.6 billion in 2025, followed by avocados at Sh25.2 billion and mangoes at Sh19.1 billion. Pineapples generated Sh6.1 billion while oranges contributed Sh5.7 billion. Meru led the country’s fruit production in 2025 with 738,317.7 tonnes, followed by Murang’a with 517,238.42 tonnes, Lamu with 318,746 tonnes and Kilifi with 225,252.3 tonnes.