Growing Cashew Nuts in Kilifi

Soil suitability analysis based on Kilifi's nutrient profile

Kilifi County is well suited to Cashew Nuts, scoring 90/100 on ShambaIQ's soil-match model. Local soils average pH 6.24 — slightly acidic to near-neutral and inside the 5–7.5 band Cashew Nuts prefers, so no lime is usually required. The main gap is potassium — measured at N 0.8 g/kg, P 11 mg/kg, K 109 mg/kg against this crop's low/low/medium demand — so the fertilizer plan below prioritises closing that deficit. The county's predominantly sandy loam soils suit Cashew Nuts, which favours sandy. At current prices (about KES 275/kg) and a typical 900 kg/acre yield, a well-managed Cashew Nuts crop here can gross roughly KES 247,500 per acre.