Glitter of hope for cashew farmers

Lindi. Mashaka Milanzi is a dejected man. For many years now, he has been tendering to his two-acre cashewnut farm. But the output has been depressing. All his efforts have not helped much.

With the introduction of a warehouse receipt system last year, and the considerable rise in cashew prices, came a little hope that his woes had ended.

Yet, like many farmers across the region, the frustration persisted as yield kept on on a negative trend partly blamed on pests, and aging cashew trees.

Many local farmers who had banked on cashewnuts over the years are decrying losses caused by poor variety. Some are regretting going back to farming the cash crop saying it is not giving them value for their time and hard-earned money.

However, things may now change. The Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT), in collaboration with district councils, has started a programme to provide farmers with a fresh, hopefully high-yield and pest-resistant seed variety.

If this plan works out well, this may be the silver lining the farmers have been hoping for. Beside replacing the aging trees, the board hopes that the new cashew variety that will be freely distributed, can give the weary farmers a new lease of life.

According to the CBT, the programme is part of the Economic Growth and Poverty Alleviation Strategy, better known by its Kiswahili acronym Mkukuta. It is partly aimed at enabling Tanzania attain the targets set in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

To start with, the CBT and district councils plan to distribute close to 10.5 million cashew seedlings, and ensure that farmers apply the right methods.

Mr Hasani Jarufu, the acting CBT executive director, says due to the importance attached to cashewnut production, especially in the southern regions, the government had directed that a new seed variety be availed to farmers.

He said recently the order was given by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa during his tour of the region. “The order was for us to embark on a programme to replace the aging cashew trees,” he said.

“Prime Minister Majaliwa wanted farmers to be provided with new high quality cashew seedlings which they can use to replace the old trees whose production rate has decreased.”

He noted that the Premier wanted each village to be provided with 5,000 new seedlings annually to start with.

Mr Jarufu said that after the directive, the CBT and district councils agreed on a target to plant 30 million new cashew trees in three years from 2016/17 to 2018/19. He said farmers would be sensitised on the need to plant the new varieties to enable them increase output and produce quality cashewnuts.

“Through this programme, we want farmers to embark on modern farming technologies. To start with, we will provide them with quality seedlings, which will give them high yields of high quality,” said the CBT boss.

“This will ensure that farmers contribute more to the Treasury and at the same time help boost district and regional economies through the export of quality crops.” In Lindi, 47 groups of farmers have been identified, and they have already entered into a contract with the board to use the new seedlings. The groups have capacity to produce at least 543,327 seedlings.

In Ruangwa District, 23 groups have also signed in on the deal, and have committed themselves to producing 184,925 seedlings. All these seedlings will be distributed free of charge to farmers.

The CBT believes that the programme has potential to increase cashewnut production by 600,000 tonnes if consistently implemented in a period of five to 10 years.

“This translates to a Sh1.8 trillion annual increase in income among cashew producing farmers if the price remains constant at Sh3,000 a kilo,” says the CBT director.

There is a glitter of hope among the farmers. Many are looking forward to improved incomes.

Mr Selemani Makota, a cashewnut farmer from Chimbira Village in Ruangwa District, is one of the beneficiaries of the programme. He is elated.

“We are excited about the programme, and it has revived our enthusiasm to continue with cashew farming,” he told The Citizen on Saturday.

“I have always wanted to plant new cashewnuts, but we didn’t have quality varieties. All we have here are old cashew trees, whose yield is very low. Many people have been forced to travel long distances to start fresh cashew farms. I have no ability to do that, but this programme will enable me to replace my aging cashew trees.”

The farmers are also happy to have received the cashew seedlings on time. But among the farmers, there are fears over sustainability of the programme.

Mr Mohammed Mpinga, a cashew farmer from Nandagara Village also in Ruangwa District, told The Citizen on Saturday that many farmers lacked knowledge on how to maximise on the new seed variety for higher yields.

He said: “Getting the seedlings is one thing, but it’s a different issue altogether to take good care of them. The government has to keep an eye and ensure things are done the right way.”

“Therefore, we would like to see extension officers visiting us here occasionally to direct us on how to take care of the young seedlings.”

Lindi Regional Commissioner Godfrey Zambi says the government is keen on ensuring that this programme is a success story. He, however, urged farmers to embrace modern farming technologies to attain their targets.

“The beauty of modern farming techniques is that you use minimal energy to produce more. This is how the farmers are going to benefit from the crop; right now we have a situation where they (farmers) are spending a lot of energy but earning very little,” he says.

According to the RC, despite the problems that farmers have been facing at the individual levels, cashew production in Lindi Region more than doubled in the past two farming seasons -- 2016/15 and 2016/17.

In the 2015/16 season, the region harvested 27,000 tonnes of cashewsnuts, while in 2016/17 production went up to 60,000 tonnes.

Mr Zambi says the increase in production has, in turn, increased some farmers’ earnings. He says farmers have earned more than Sh193 billion in the last season, while district councils collected levies amounting to Sh3.9 billion.

And the Regional Commissioner is optimistic that production could be pushed further up as there are about one million hectares fit for cashewnuts cultivation, which have not been developed so far in the region. He urged farmers to take advantage of the new seedlings that are being freely provided by the CBT to increase their output.

“This provides a unique opportunity for the farmers to do away with poverty, and the way to go is adopting modern farming techniques. The government will make sure that farmers get all the needed inputs on time,” he says.

He appealed to the board to increase the number of centres where farmers can access the new seed variety.