A newly launched cashew project in Burkina Faso is supporting over 6,500 women producers to increase incomes and the productivity of cashew orchards in the country.<\/p>
A cash crop with huge commercial potential, West Africa is one of the primary regions for global cashew nut production.<\/p>
But traditionally low yields and an inadequate processing infrastructure have meant that the economic potential of African cashew nut has not been fully realised. Processing facilities in Burkina Faso are particularly limited, and most cashew is exported in raw form, with the shelling, roasting and production of profitable products including cashew butter, oil and bio-fuels to take place following export.<\/p>
The new Self Help Africa project is the second phase of a cashew-development initiative that supported 726 people (685 women and 41 men) to improve agricultural practices in cashew farming in Burkina Faso, between 2021 and 2022.<\/p>
More than \u20ac1.125 million is being invested in the initiative over the coming four years, with the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) providing 90% of the funding for the work.<\/p>
Country director Paul Andr\u00e9 Traore said that Self Help Africa recognised the potential of the cashew crop for farming households. He said that they would work with technical services, research centres, cashew farmers\u2019 organisations and other local community stakeholders to build and strengthen cashew as a profitable cash crop and valuable source of income for people in Burkina Faso. <\/p>
A study by the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) concluded recently that cashew plantations had significant potential to restore degraded eco-systems threatened by climate change. The crop grew well in hot, dry conditions, and the trees removed harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, while also yielding large shells that could be used as energy bricks for heating and cooking, thus reducing pressure on forests to provide fuel-wood for families, the report concluded.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"