From teacher to cashew farmer
José was a teacher by profession, who assisted his father in cashew production. After his father's death, he took over the management of the property in 1999.
Since the memorandum of understanding signed between Shelter for Life and the CONGAI cooperative as part of the LIFFT-Cashew project which aims to address the challenges faced by cashew producers in the value chain, to improve the competitiveness of the cashew sector as well as the overall yields and production José was chosen to try a new practice.
Since the memorandum of understanding signed between Shelter for Life and the CONGAI cooperative as part of the LIFFT-Cashew project which aims to address the challenges faced by cashew producers in the value chain, to improve the competitiveness of the cashew sector as well as the overall yields and production José was chosen to try a new practice.
Although he was very reluctant at first because of the cultural aspect of attaching the tree to its owner on the one hand, and the loss of production on the other hand, according to him. He went ahead anyway. The results after two months were simply incredible.
We had to demonstrate the impact of pruning and felling diseased, non-productive and highly compacted trees to obtain a plantation geometry that respected cashew tree recommendations. SFL provided all the technical assistance for this.
In terms of yield, he saw earlier flowering and a longer harvest period, which allowed him to harvest 250 kg in the demonstration plot and 131 kg in the control plot (farmers’ practices), improving yield by 91%. Pruning and spacing allowed him to gain 119 kg, which represents an additional yield.
« The LIFFT Cashew project funded by USDA and implemented by Shelter for Life International supports Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau (SeGaBi) in the integral development of the cashew value chain. The organization of cooperatives and their transformation is an important axis to ensure the sustainability of the activities promoted by the LIFFT Cashew project. »
“Thanks to Shelter For Life, my productions have been the object of envy and model of success for having received the visit of researchers, the Ministry of Agriculture and the processing company ARREY on my farm and have promised to use the same techniques as me.”
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