Mozambican government approves plan to increase cashew production

Cashew production in Mozambique is expected to increase from 112,000 tons to 182,000 tons in 10 years by implementing programmes focused on research, new plantations and spraying, the deputy Agriculture Minister said in Maputo Tuesday.

At the end of a Council of Ministers meeting that approved the 2nd Cashew Master Plan, which will be in place from 2013 to 2023, deputy minister António Limbau said that the document outlined strategies and activities designed to ensure the development of the sector and the wellbeing of the population involved in cashew production.

Cited by daily newspaper Notícias, Limbau said that the first master plan had led to development of four varieties of cashews in order to increase production, as well as leading to increased domestic processing of cashews, which currently stands at 30,000 tons, the highest amount of all African cashew producing countries.

The 2nd Cashew Master Plan points to increasing sapling production from 2.7 million plants currently to 4.6 million in the next ten years and increasing the number of cashew trees that are sprayed from 4.8 million to 5 million to increase yield, which is expected to increase from 5 kilos to 12 kilos.

The plan is also intended to improve the quality of the nuts, which is important for both domestic processing and export, and to increase domestic processing capacity to 100,000 tons per year.

In the 1970s Mozambique was the world’s largest cashew producer, with production of over 200,000 tons, which fell due to a number of factors, one of which was Mozambique’s 16-year civil war.