NENO MACADAMIA TRUST

Food Secruity & Nutrition

Planting macadamia trees for food

The Neno Macadamia Trust works with a cooperative organisation, HIMACUL (The Highland Macadamia Cooperative Union Limited) in Malawi that trains, supplies resources and provides trading centres for smallholder cooperative groups in Malawi to plant and harvest macadamia trees. The macadamia nuts from the trees provide food for the smallholder families. Planting trees for food is known as agroforestry.

Agroforestry is becoming increasingly important because it builds a sustainable environment as well providing food security. It is especially important in countries like Malawi where the traditional staple food crop, maize, weakens soil fertility over time and is increasingly at risk of failing in the more extreme climate conditions that are occurring due to climate change.

Better nutrition

Macadamia nuts are very high in oil and high in fibre, minerals, nutrients, and vitamins. This provides needed diversification to a Malawian diet. Crucially, harvest occurs during the 'lean period', pre-maize harvest, when food stocks run low, prices increase and many households go hungry.

See the macadamia nutrition table


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