The Business Side of Cashew

Cashew farmers in Mozambique work hard all year to secure a good harvest from their cashew trees.  Perhaps even more important than collecting the harvest, though, is the process of selling the harvest on the market, which is referred to as the time of commercialization.

For cashew farmers this is an extremely important time because it is when they can finally reap the benefits from cultivating cashew – they may work hard all the way to the harvest season, but if they do not succeed at commercialization then they will not earn a good profit.  As most cashew producing communities are in rural areas, these farmers are often disconnected to markets and information.  They are at a particular disadvantage as they often have little information about the price of their product on the market, which is an important determinant of a good profit after volume of yields.

Since 2014, MozaCajú has been training cashew farmers on commercialization techniques through sessions on My Cashew Business, in order to fill the gap in knowledge and information that has prevented them from maximizing their profits.  Through these trainings, cashew farmers in Mozambique have been empowered by knowledge and information, which have not only enabled them to maximize their profits for cashew, but have helped them diversify livelihoods, strengthen their own resilience and expand their own hopes for the future.

To read the full MozaCajú version of the story click here, or to see TechnoServe’s abbreviated version, click here.