African Cashew Alliance

Fourteen African countries produce more than one-third of the world's cashews (est. 588,000 tons out of 1.6 million tons worldwide in 2006). Countries like Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania rank 4-6th of the biggest producers in the world.

Many African cashew producers have little access to information about ways to improve their yield, defend their crop against diseases, and maximize their incomes given changing market conditions. For years, African raw cashews have been exported to India and Vietnam where they are processed and shipped to Europe and the USA for consumption. Today, African processing capacity is growing: East Africa now processes 20-30% of its domestic production. West Africa is adding processing plants and will increase its current processing rate of 5-10% in the coming years. Cashew processing in Africa is an important means to create employment and increase economic growth.

The African Cashew Alliance was initiated in June 2005 in Baltimore. More than 20 organizations - the founding members - expressed interest to become actively involved in building a public private partnership to promote the African cashew. 

ACA supports the cashew sector to increase farmer income, export of cashew kernels and economic growth of the cashew value chain by: Linking stakeholders across countries to share information and create synergies Promoting the African cashew in the global marketplace Facilitating companies and donors to increase funding of initiatives in the sector Leveraging knowledge and capacity Prioritizing and stimulating interventions to increase competitivenes