Cashew production in Tanzania

Tanzania is one of the largest cashew producers in Africa, with exports providing 10-15 percent of the country's foreign exchange.

The country provides 20% of Africa's cashew nut and only trails in production of Nigeria, Cote D'Ivoire, and Guinea-Bissau, according to figures released in 2012 by United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

[1] The country has been engaged in the production of the cash crop since before independence in the years 1960s however, poor regulation and lack of reliable payments to farmers have posed significant challenges to the Cashew Nut farming industry in Tanzania.

[3] The cash crop is usually cultivated in the southern coastal regions of the country, near the towns of Mtwara, Kilwa and Dar es Salaam.

The Tanzanian government has been facing challenges for finding potential investors in order to revive the cashew processing industry in Tanzania.

Furthermore, mass relocation of people and the collectivization of villages during the 1980s resulted in many farmers abandoning large real estates and areas of the crop production.

The growth was achieved due to increased trade liberalization and sector reforms aimed at abolishing the state monopoly.

Furthermore, previous laws enacted by the government that prevented the export of raw nuts were reversed and this action brought much-needed ancillary revenue to the farmers.

The falling Tanzanian shilling against the dollar fueled the export industry further and new private sector investments increased the revenue earned by the farmers.

In July 2014, ex-Tanzanian Prime minister Mizengo Pinda, declared that the government was going to spend $US 72 million and revive four processing plants in the south.