THE Cashew Board of Tanzania (CBT) has set ambitious target for the cashew nut production, with plans to increase production to one million tons by 2030.

Francis Alfred, director of CBT, shared the news in Dar es Salaam yesterday when briefing reporters ahead a global cashew meeting which will be held later this year. It will bring together over 500 stakeholders from across the globe, including 33 countries that produce cashews, to discuss investment opportunities in the industry and strategies to expand market access.

He said for the past three years, the government has fully subsidised cashew inputs for farmers, which had helped boost production from 310,000 tonnes in the 2023/2024 season to   estimated 410,000 tonnes in 2024/2025. 

However, the government’s sights are set higher, with the target to triple   production by 2030.

Alfred said to achieve the goal, the Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the CBT implement  the Building a Better Tomorrow: Youth Initiative for Agribusiness (BBT-YIA), which has employed 500 youth to provide extension services to farmers in key cashew-growing regions including Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma, Coast and Tanga.

  Major part of the government’s strategy involves the development of   dedicated industrial park at the villages of Maranje, Nanyamba, Mtwara, where 1,572 acres have been set aside for the project. 

This will be home to 30 cashew nut mills, six cashew nut shell oil mills, and four sesame processing mills, all aimed at increasing the country’s processing capacity and  to ensure   full potential of domestic cashew production is realised by 2030.

Alfred thanked the government’s ongoing support for the cashew industry, with substantial investments in agricultural subsidies.

Regarding the meeting, he said that it will jointly be organised by   CBT and the African Cashew Alliance    as a platform for exploring opportunities in the cashew nut sector. 

Alfred noted that the meeting is expected to attract participants from across the world, including prominent cashew-producing nations such as Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, and Burkina Faso. Countries  including Mali, Benin, Ghana, Madagascar, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Mauritius, the Comoro Islands will also be represented.

In addition to producers, stakeholders from leading consumer markets including the United States, Europe, China, the Middle East and South Africa will also attend, underscoring the global interest in the cashew industry.

The focus of the meeting will be on investment in the cashew value chain, ranging from farmers and growers to processors, roasters, transporters, cooperatives, and distributors.

One of the key topics will be increasing the extraction and processing capacity for cashews and their by-products, both within Africa and globally. Alfred highlighted opportunities for new innovations, such as cashew nut shell liquid, cashew nut milk, and alcohol, to diversify the industry.