Latest News
LIFFT-Cashew Project Policy Component Achieves Another Milestone
March 21, 2025
Birth of the Federation of Cashew Nut Value Chain Actors of Senegal (FACVAS)
March 12, 2025
Promotion of Warehouse Receipt System for 2025 Marketing Year
February 28, 2025
Lifft Cashew: Transforming the Cashew Industry in West Africa
January 21, 2025Social Media Posts
🌱 Empowering Growers for a Sustainable Future!
Shelter For Life is committed to supporting cashew growers by developing early and productive cashew varieties that are resilient to climate change.🌍 To ensure better production in the future.
#ClimateResilience #AgriInnovation
A key mission took place in the Sindian region, where cashew seedlings distributed in 2020 were closely monitored. 🌿Excitingly, early flowering of these plants was observed, signaling promising results for farmers! 🌸 Let's continue to innovate and adapt for a better tomorrow.
SHELTR FOR LIFE GRADUATIONS
The Liftt Cashew project is at the forefront of revitalizing cashew plantations to secure a sustainable future for this vital industry.
#LifttCashew #CashewRevitalization #SupportingFarmers #SustainableAgriculture #AgriculturalInnovation
Recently, awareness-raising sessions and demonstrations on grafting techniques, particularly canopy replacement, were held on a demonstration plot owned by a producer and member of the CASMA cooperative in the Mansaba sector of the Oio region.
#GraftingTechniques #Cooperatives
These innovative practices aim to improve crop quality and ensure the long-term sustainability of the cashew industry.🌿SFL is committed to supporting these efforts for a thriving cashew industry, with a focus on sustainability and the empowerment of local farmers
BISSAU STEERING COMMITEE METTING
#shelterforlifeinternational #LIFFTCashew #USDA #EconomicGrowth #CashewIndustry #GuineaBissau #SustainableDevelopment
#FoodSecurity #shelterforlifeinternational #LIFFTCashew #USDA #SustainableFarming #WomenInAgriculture #Intercropping #MarketGardening #Empowerment #cooperatives #Bissau
SFL empowers producers to diversify their agricultural practices 🌱, fostering food security for all. Alongside and under the cashew trees🌳, women are actively engaged in intercropping and market gardening 🌿.
#WomenInAgriculture #Intercropping #MarketGardening #Empowerment
In this way, they meet the expenses and needs of their families 💪 while contributing to the economy of their communities❤️.
#FoodSecurity #shelterforlifeinternational #LIFFTCashew #USDA #SustainableFarming #cooperatives #Bissau
We were delighted to welcome a team from the USDA, who were able to discover the significant impact of the LIFFT-Cashew project. Their visit highlighted our efforts to build and rehabilitate warehouses and production tracks, and to finance and support processing units in Bissau.
We also shared exciting advances in good agricultural practices, which are helping to strengthen the cashew industry, a sustainable agricultural future in Guinea-Bissau! 🙌
#LIFFTCashew #USDA #CashewNuts #SustainableDevelopment
https://lifftproject.com/job-vacancy/invitation-to-bid-itb-n-sfl-lifft-cashew-project-5302-2024-01-construction-materials/
LIFFT-Cashew
This is a 6-year program (2017-2023) funded by USDA and implemented by Shelter for Life International to enhance the production and trade of cashews in local and international markets.
The LIFFT-Cashew project works around four objectives which are:
Increase RCN quality
Production: High yields and high quality of RCN in trees
Production of organic RCN
Organic certification: Production of organic RCN
Post-harvest Farming
Maintain high quality of RCN after harvesting
Post-production handling
Improve post-production handling, and strengthen farm management.
Our Components
On-Farm Practices
Training on good agricultural practices was provided to 20,946 cashew producers through pre-selected cooperative members as trainers/facilitators, who attended thematic train-the-trainer modules on pruning, thinning, nut separation, drying, storage, organic standards, and new plantation establishment techniques. A total of 721 trainers were trained. 32 nurseries were established by the support of the project in three countries and in total 98.000 seedlings were produced and sold to cashew producers. In total 46.815 hectares of cashew plantations were improved by application of good agricultural practices. 3.027 producers were certified for organic production.
Market Access
24 cooperative societies were established or strengthened by providing series of training and daily coaching on business management, access to finance, sales, and market relations. Massive sensitization of cooperatives was supported, reaching at least 25,278 cashew producers. This resulted 145 commercial contracts signed between cooperatives and buyers, on supply of RCN. In total 122.397 MT of cashew nuts were sold collectively amounting $105.912.210 in value of sales.
Access to Finance
The Project is working with financial institutions to increase access to microcredits and loans to cashew producers and processors. Two (2) financial institutions (microfinance) provided loans in amount of $917,897 and fifty-three (53) individual buyers and trading companies provided to producers and cooperatives pre-financing in amount of $64.487.593. The project Cashew fund disbursed to nine (9) processing facilities loans in amount of $740.000 for purchase of raw cashew nuts (RCN) during the season, that leveraged $4.641.041 private investment into the cashew sector. 1.777 individuals (incl. 463 women) were trained about entrepreneurship, financial management, loans.
Infrastructure
Construction and rehabilitation of rural roads to facilitate the flow of cashew nuts. combines both heavy machinery and manual labor to create employment opportunities. To date 136,24 KM of feeder roads constructed and 4,640 jobs created. In total 15.564 m3 of storage were rehabilitated and constructed which allowed farmers to maintain quality and organize collective sales.
