Côte d'Ivoire (one of the world's leading cashew-producing nations) recently began the active promotion of its domestic cashew processing facilities in order to obtain a greater share of the added value.
In the town of Bondoukou, located in the Zanzan district in the northeast of Côte d'Ivoire, not far from the country's border with Ghana, traditional huts with straw roofs have given way to cement houses. Motorcycle sales have exploded in the city as local farmers connect to the internet and exchange messages with their smartphones.
Living conditions have improved considerably. Cashews have changed people's lives. It is owing to the income from cashew nut cultivation that farms are able to pay for health care and daily expenses, send their children to primary school and then to high school.
The Copabo cooperative, which is made up of nearly nine hundred small cashew producers from the Bondoukou region, has been in existence for over 15 years. Members of the cooperative have seen this region transform thanks to cashew cultivation, with producers' income doubling or even tripling. Copabo members cultivate small plots anywhere between half a hectare and five hectares with an average annual yield of four hundred kilos of raw nuts per hectare. Harvested by the cooperative, the nuts brought in about 0.47 Euros per kilo at the start of this year's harvest. This implies an average annual income of € 940 for five hectares. The price has dropped significantly this year due to inferior quality. On average, the prices vary between three hundred and four hundred CFA francs per kilo. The federal government tries to regulate the price each year by setting a purchase price for producers, which depends on the quality and the global market price.
As much as half of all the raw cashew nuts harvested by the cooperative are sold either to the Singaporean agribusiness company Olam for processing, to the Canadian company Ivorian Cashew Nut (INCajou), or exported to India. Copabo also processed four hundred tonnes of certified organic cashews this year. The cashew nuts grown and harvested in Côte d'Ivoire remain virtually pesticide and fertilizer-free. The vast majority of these nuts are shelled on-site at these plantations, mainly by hand. The kernels are then packaged and shipped to European, Swiss, and American markets, although this isn't the case for the vast majority of cashew nuts produced on the African continent.
Côte d'Ivoire's Cashew Production Capacity - A Force To Be Reckoned With
While Africa (led by Côte d'Ivoire) produces ninety percent of the world's raw cashews at the moment, less than fifteen percent is processed on the continent. In Côte d'Ivoire, this figure is only six percent. The majority of the cashew nuts produced in Côte d'Ivoire are exported to Asia, where processing plants are operating at full capacity. Everything from roasting, salting, and incorporating the nuts into snacks destined for the European and American markets is carried out. The relocation of cashew processing activities to countries in the African continent would serve in creating a vital, new source of income for the continent.
Economic, Social & Environmental Benefits
Cashew trees were originally introduced to the Bondoukou region for the purposes of reforestation. Local people soon realized that growing cashews was much less demanding than growing cocoa, as the farm plots required little maintenance and that the cashew nuts could be sold at a more attractive price than cocoa or cotton, the prices of which were falling.
In two decades, cashew has become the new star crop of Côte d'Ivoire, and its success continues. Cashew production has now increased ten times, having notched up just under nine hundred thousand tonnes in the 2020 season, according to the latest figures from the Cotton and Cashew Council. The sector now supports more than 410,000 families in Côte d'Ivoire, today the world's second-largest producer, right behind India and just ahead of Vietnam. The country is also on track to become the third-largest cashew processor in the world, with one of the highest production. The reason for Côte d'Ivoire's rise as a global cashew production powerhouse is partly due to the ecological transition to adapt to climate change and the depletion of forests.
“Climate change has made it incredibly difficult to plant cocoa trees in the northern part of the country. Farmers in Côte d'Ivoire have rediscovered the cashew tree, which is hardy, drought-resistant, and, for now, doesn’t require any chemical intervention, as there are no particular insects or diseases that prey on it, unlike with cotton or cocoa. Cashew trees have also assisted in restoring forest cover in the Savanna regions which are under great pressure because they’re overused sources of wood for cooking and heating.”
The expansion of cashew cultivation early on was entirely spontaneous, driven only by supply and demand. India was running out of raw materials, and buyers came to Africa in the 80s and started buying cashew nuts. In the early days, there was virtually no support from the Ivorian government or NGOs. This support came later when the trees were planted. The growth of the cashew economy has also made it possible for farmers in the north, whose only cash crop was cotton, to diversify their production, which had a major social impact.
Federal Government Support Has Played A Role In Uplifting Côte d'Ivoire Cashew Production
“The Ivorian government presently sets the price paid to producers and since 2016 has been taxing the exports of raw nuts in order to encourage local processing. As of now, most of the added value from cashew nut cultivation in Côte d'Ivoire as well as the African continent is created in India and Vietnam, and to a lesser extent in Brazil, during the first processing (drying, shelling, removal of the skin of the kernel, etc.), then in Europe and North America, where around sixty percent of the nuts marketed are roasted, salted, packaged and consumed in the form of cereal bars or incorporated into drinks.
“According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Commodities at a Glance, Special Issue on Cashew Nuts report, released in April 2021, the 2018 export price of cashews from India to the European Union was about three and a half times higher than that paid to Ivorian producers. As the report concludes, subsequent to the second stage of processing in Europe, the price of cashews went up two and a half times higher than when they were exported from India, or about eight and a half times higher than when they were exported from India.”
These figures exhibit the tremendous potential for increasing incomes and diminishing poverty for Africa's three million small-scale cashew cultivators. The problem, according to UNCTAD, is the lack of local processing industries. Cashews grow in tropical climates in twenty countries in West and East Africa, which produce most of the raw cashews sold on the world market. Along with Côte d'Ivoire, the major African cashew-producing nations are Guinea-Bissau, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, and Mozambique. And Senegal is one of the many countries that is slowly beginning to be considered in the list.
“The cashew nut production sector in Senegal has tremendous potential for growth. The growth could be achieved through the creation of geographical indications, eco-labels, and certifications, both for European markets and for African countries that are members of the new zone. The African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA), which offers access to a market of 1.3 billion consumers, is playing a huge role in Senegal's rise as a major cashew-producing nation in Africa.
“Consumers increasingly informed and engaged want to be reassured both on the practice of shelling, corrosive when done by hand (because the shell of the kernel contains an acidic resin), as well as on the respect of workers' and environmental rights, in order to avoid the abuses witnessed in other agro-sectors such as palm oil and cocoa.”
In order to take complete advantage of the cashew nut boom, Côte d'Ivoire has set itself the goal of achieving a domestic processing rate of 40%. Over the past few years, investments have been pouring in, and processing centers have emerged in Bondoukou, Korhogo, Bouaké, Yamoussoukro, and Abidjan.
These investors include the Canadian, Ivorian de Noix de Cajou (INCajou); the Singaporean giant Olam (which is the market leader); the French, Ciwa; the Chinese, SG Agro; the Israeli DekelOil, and Ivory Cashew Nut (ICN).
There are currently around fifteen treatment plants under construction, which will be added to the fifteen or so that already exist. Five years ago there were only three factories. One of them has since been closed. Back in 2016, cashew cultivators in Côte d'Ivoire, on the whole, processed close to ten thousand tonnes of raw cashew nuts. It is now approaching a hundred thousand tonnes of processed cashew nuts.This is a major development that has enabled the creation of six thousand new jobs.
Côte d'Ivoire is currently the only nation to initiate a support policy for the cashew sector, setting prices for producers, taxing exports of raw materials, and facilitating the construction of factories. Other countries like Burkina Faso, Benin, and Ghana are watching what is happening and starting to follow suit.
