Extra facilities needed as cashew production rises

DODOMA: AS Tanzania targets 700,000 tonnes of cashew production in the 2025/2026 season, Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe has directed the Cashew Board of Tanzania (CBT) and the Registrar of Cooperatives to explore using revenues from the crop to finance the construction of small warehouses to ease storage challenges.

The Minister issued the directive in Dodoma during the 2025 Annual Cashew Stakeholders’ Meeting held over the weekend, stressing that the storage facilities must correspond with the increasing production of the crop.

“I urge that we start discussions on how we can use the money we get from the cooperative system to build small warehouses so that we can end the problem of cashew storage,” said Bashe.

On his part, the CBT Director General, Francis Alfred, said that in the 2024/2025 season, cashew production reached more than 500,000 tonnes, valued at over 1.8tri/-.

He added that the 2025/2026 target of 700,000 tonnes represents a 32.51 per cent increase compared to the previous season.

He assured that CBT is continuing with preparations for market supervision and raw cashew sales to ensure success in the upcoming season.

ALSO READ: Govt empowers extension officers to boost cashew production

Meanwhile, the Director of the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)–Naliendele in Mtwara, Dr Geradina Mzena said the institute is continuing with various research initiatives on cashews, including soil health and value addition.

She added that TARI is not only conducting research but also training extension officers to transfer knowledge to farmers as well as producing improved cashew seeds used both locally and abroad, including in Zambia and Kenya.

“To ensure mass production of improved cashew seeds, we have expanded our seed farms from 40 hectares to 363 hectares, which are currently under management,” Dr Mzena said.

The meeting’s chairperson, Yusufu Nannila, expressed confidence in the Ministry of Agriculture for its strong efforts to transform cashew farming from subsistence to commercial levels, thereby improving farmers’ incomes and contributing to the national economy.