African Cashew Alliance

At the annual convention of the Peanut and Treenut Processors’ Association (PTNPA), the US nut business’ most important and biggest event, the main speaker at the cashew workshop was expected by many to speak mainly about cashew in Brazil.  But instead, Niel Hyde, shareholder of IRACEMA, the world’s largest cashew processing facility, dedicated almost half of his speaking time to describing his positive experience of buying around $50m worth of raw cashew nuts in West Africa with the help of the African Cashew Alliance. He stated that "We see West Africa as very much a part of our future as a supplier of in-shell and as a place we want to set up modern processing plants."

As a sign of the company's deep commitment to expanding their presence in Africa, IRACEMA has joined the ACA Advisory Board. In this capacity, IRACEMA will contribute to the governance and strategic oversight of ACA and act as an advisor to the ACA Executive Committee and ACA Secretariat. ACA looks forward to benefitting from IRACEMA’s extensive experience and expertise in the international cashew industry as they play a key role in shaping ACA’s future.

Click "Read More" for an excerpt of Hyde’s speech extolling the potential of the African cashew industry and praising the work of ACA and its partners.

USAID through the West Africa Trade Hub is teaming up with ACA to grow the processing industry in West Africa. On 16 January 2012, USAID awarded ACA a US$232,000 grant to support the ACA’s technical assistance and quality and sustainability program for cashew processors. The West Africa Trade Hub will further collaborate with the ACA by making available finance experts to facilitate bank lending to cashew processors in need of working capital in the upcoming season. In 2011, ACA has facilitated more than $1.5m in working capital and created more than 1,000 new jobs in cashew processing as a result of the cooperation with the Trade Hub. The new grant will help ACA build its capacity of delivering technical assistance and launch the ACA Quality and Sustainability Seal, a program that will help processors implement and document compliance with international food safety, quality and labor standards in their factories.

ACA Business Advisor discusses cashew processing with Summit participants during a field trip to a local processing facility

ACA was proud to support Nigeria's National Cashew Summit, held on 1-2 December 2011. This event, organized by Nigeria's Raw Materials Research and Development Council, focused on strategies to promote the sustainable development of Nigeria's cashew industry - namely an increase in both production and processing. The 200 participants learned about good agricultural practices, trends on the world market, and an innovative cashew processing cluster scheme. ACA President Idrissa Kilangi presented the keynote address, in which he discussed best practices and passionately described the many benefits a strong and sustainable cashew industry could bring to Nigeria.  

ACA hopes to build on this productive event and continue to support Nigeria's efforts to develop its cashew sector!

ACA Members: Access presentations from the Summit here