![]() ![]() ![]() Six out of every 10 people live below the poverty line-meaning they cannot afford a daily supply of one kilogramme of rice, the local staple food-and three-quarters of the population have no access to clean water.Ĭôte d’Ivoire stands to gain up to $127 million in export revenue if it moves from exporting raw cashews, about 500,000 tons currently, to boosting its annual processing capacity to 100,000 tons of cashews by 2020, a study commissioned by the government shows. In the Zanzan District in north-eastern Côte d’Ivoire, one of the country’s cashew-growing regions, poverty levels remain among the highest nationwide. In 2014, for example, the Ivorian cashew production relied on 250,000 farmers while its revenues were shared by an estimated 1.5 million. Only a small number of small-scale farmers are reaping the benefits. Members of the initiative include five African producers: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Mozambique.įor all the remarkable cashew nut growth, however, the overall benefits to the cashew growing areas are limited. However, only 10% of this is processed locally, according to the African Cashew Initiative, a project backed by the German government, private companies, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As the top world exporter of processed cashew, India imports 50% to 60% of raw cashew for processing from Africa and Asia.Īfrican countries produce about 45% or 1.2 million tonnes of global cashew nuts annually. ![]() India and Vietnam’s rising needs for raw cashew nuts have also fuelled the growth of cashew farming in Côte d’Ivoire. The ease with which the trees grow, the reduction in cotton farming – the traditional cash crop of the region – and the growing global demand for processed cashew nuts are some of the reasons behind the country’s impressive performance. “We’ve never seen a country grow its production in the way Côte d’Ivoire has over the past decade.” It’s astounding,” Jim Fitzpatrick, a cashew expert told Reuters late last year. Except for a small dip in 2003, commercial production has been growing steadily since then.Ĭôte d’Ivoire’s cashew nut boom is remarkable. A milestone was reached in 2002 when production topped 100,000 tonnes. ![]() Its commercial production remained modest for the next 30 years. The evergreen tropical tree can survive in difficult conditions, including sandy soil, and can grow up to 12 metres high and is highly recommended by environmentalists for reforestation programmes.įor the decade ending in 1970, Côte d’Ivoire produced a total of about 300 tonnes of cashew nuts. Broken nuts receive lower prices.Ĭashew trees were first introduced in West Africa from India in the early 1960s to fight desertification and soil erosion through agroforestry and to establish protected forest areas. Even then, the processing is usually limited at separating broken nuts from whole nuts and packaging them in sacks for exports. While the country has the capacity to process 65,000 tonnes of raw nut annually, it currently processes 40,000 tonnes, according to CCA. However, to realise its full potential, Côte d’Ivoire has to process and add value to its raw cashews. It will also help develop the country’s agro-industry. To the Ivoirian economy, the cashew boom presents an unexpected but welcome opportunity to diversify agricultural exports beyond cocoa beans and rubber. For example, for every $10 of raw cashew nuts Côte d’Ivoire exports, $6 is expected to be paid back to the farmers. The West African nation’s annual production has been steadily growing at an average rate of 11%, according to CCA, the sector’s marketing board made up of representatives from the government, farmers and banking associations.ĬCA is also responsible for making sure farmers are paid decent prices for their crops. The figure is expected to hit a record 600,000 tonnes at the end of the 2015 harvesting season, placing the country as one of the world’s top producers. Kone told Africa Renewal.Ĭôte d’Ivoire produced 550,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts in 2014-about 22% of the global production. “So, it is understandable that they would refer to their orchards in this way,” Mr. Cashew nut is the only cash crop they can rely on all-year-round,” says Ga Kone of the Conseil du Coton et de l’Anacarde (CCA) or the Council of Cotton and Cashew. “These farmers don’t grow cocoa like elsewhere in the country. The impact has transformed their lives and they now refer to their orchards as places where “money grows on trees.” They get more money from it than they would make from growing food crops or cotton. Here cashew nut growing has improved the lives of these small-scale farmers significantly. For the fortunate cashew nut farmers in the central and northern parts of the country, February through June is harvest time. The annual “money-harvesting” season is in full swing in Côte d’Ivoire. ![]()
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