African Cashew Alliance

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ACA annual conference 2008

The third annual conference of the African Cashew Alliance in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania heralded cashew as “the ultimate source,” a potent force for economic development and poverty reduction in Africa. It’s not hard to see why: Farmers are willing and able to grow more cashews. The number and quality of processors in Africa is on the rise. And cashews top consumers’ nut preferences.

“Will the cashew crop ever rescue the farmer?” asked Ali Hassan Mwinyi, the former president of Tanzania and a cashew farmer, in his opening address at the September event. “Yes, the cashew program gives hope to Africa.”

The conference, organized and hosted by the African cashew Alliance and hosted and co-sponsored by the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania, the Cashewnut Processors Association of Tanzania, and other stakeholders, covered virtually every aspect of the industry – from how to increase cashew tree yields to how to market the final product to consumers.

Over 130 industry stakeholders from 19 countries participated, including 60 active ACA members. Confident in the future of the cashew sector in Africa, they made and attended presentations, panels and discussions, visited local cashew processors, shared best practices and sealed cashew deals with newly found business partners.

Francisco Pileggi of Kraft Foods encouraged stakeholders, explaining that U.S. market research shows that nuts are well positioned in the snack market and will continue to grow as “baby boomers” – Americans born in the 1950s and 1960s – see nuts as healthy and convenient food.

“Cashews, especially, are attractive to aging consumers who are increasingly aware of their health since cashews are zero-cholesterol and have 20 percent less fat or oil than other nuts,” Pileggi said. “So the industry should highlight nutritional research in its marketing efforts.”

Conference participants recognized that growing the African cashew industry requires a multi-pronged approach. Opportunities and challenges vary by country and region. “Each region is more competent in different areas,” said Hari Nair of India’s Western India Cashew Co. “

For example, cashew growing is more advanced in West Africa, and processing is more advanced in East Africa. Thus, one of the keys to development will be to help the east and west to learn from each other.”

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Richard Rogers agreed. “A partnership among the players in the cashew industry – private, public and non-profit organizations – is well-positioned to provide resources, expertise, and advocacy to enhance the African cashew market and yield benefits to smallholder farmers,” Rogers said.

Analysts expect farmer income gains of at least 100 percent annually as a result of higher production yields, increased local processing and stronger primary market consumer demand, Rogers said. This would improve the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in Africa.

Conference participants unanimously agreed that increasing African processing capacity would benefit farmers and other stakeholders. They discussed ways to make other parts of the vashew value chain cashew value chain Oct 08 more efficient.

One panel discussed financing growth in the African cashew sector. Two banks that also co-sponsored the conference, Ecobank and NMB, presented their plans of financing African agriculture and processing, while Greylock Capital Management, a New York-based investment fund outlined its strategy of tapping into Africa’s emerging market.

Breaks in the conference’s program allowed participants to make deals: African processors’ exposure to international buyers resulted in new orders of processed cashews, and hope for many more to come. Sustained and well-planned investment flows will sustain the industry’s positive momentum, they said.

Another panel explored policy and incentive frameworks for investments in the cashew sector. The tools available are in place, they said, citing tax exemptions, favorable tariffs, taxation of raw cashew nut exports, and flexible labor regulation.

Those measures need to be applied in a systematic and consistent manner to produce an investment-friendly climate, said Ashok Krishan, Spices and Cashew Manager for OLAM, a global food trading company.

While much work remains on effective farmer and processor representation at the government level, participants agreed that the development of the African Cashew Alliance, now just three years old, represented a big step forward. The alliance is gaining strength as the number of paid memberships grows and election to its executive committee draws greater interest.

“Who else is going to support the ACA if not us, the African stakeholders?” said Georgette Tarraf of Agro-Phen, a processor from Benin, as she signed up two companies for paid membership in the ACA, paid her registration fee, and provided $1,000 in sponsorship for the conference.

Below please find the presentations from the conference. During next week we will upload the participant list.

African Cashew Alliance by Carlos Costa 1.38 Mb

An Overview of Tanzanian Cashew Industry by Peter Masawe & Louis Kasunga 294.12 Kb

Cashew in Mozambique Policy and Strategy by R. Matule 1.07 Mb

Cashew sub-sector support programme in Senegal by Patrick Nugawela 1.22 Mb

Field Guide Masasi Quality Farmers by Frank Nditi 2.48 Mb

Financing cashew trade by Robert Kwame 24.18 Kb

From trees in African to consumers worldwide by Kees Blokland 453.66 Kb

Greylock Capital Management by Corey Modeste 430.26 Kb

High value and niche market oppotunities by Herman uit de Bosch 872.89 Kb

Improving Yields and Quality in Raw Cashew Nut Production by Ruediger Behrens 168.15 Kb

Increasing Income Of Smallholder Cashew Farmers by Frank Nditi - english 169.00 Kb