Cashew Apple

Cashew Apple


Linking Infrastructure, Finance, and Farms to Cashew (LIFFT)

The Gambia – Factsheet

Improving Infrastructure

  • 14 km of rural agriculture feeder roads linking more than 8 villages to markets
  • 62% reduction in travel time and a 240% increase in traffic volume
  • 1,000 cash for work laborers employed, 46% women
  • 4 cashew nut warehouses (2,225 m3) rehabilitated with 3 cooperatives and 1 processor
  • 2 new cashew nut warehouses (1,840m3) constructed in partnership with a cooperative and processor

Increasing Cashew Nut Production and Quality

  • 4,692 farmers trained on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
  • 4,560 farmers applied Good Agricultural Practices on 13,061.26 ha of cashew plantations
  • Cashew farmer census conducted for 4,109 farmers, including 1,056 women
  • 5 tree nursery managers trained and supported with 2 modern shade structures
  • 6,546 cashew trees planted, including 2,519 grafted cashew seedlings

Cooperative Development

  • 5 cooperatives active and engaged through project support
  • 274 cooperative members received capacity-building training and coaching on computer skills, administration, and improved financial management
  • 806 active and 3,295 passive cooperative members
  • 6,394 MT collected by cooperatives members (passive and active) between 2020 to 2023

Improving Access to Finance, Market Linkages and Trade

  • Facilitated the sale of 3,827 MT ($6.485 million) of RCN by 5 cooperatives
  • 589 individuals received financial services through prefinancing for RCN purchase
  • $1,635,648 in financial transactions and prefinancing loans to cooperatives and members
  • 2 processors received $100,000 investment through Cashew Fund loans and 75.6 MT of RCN purchased from cooperatives in 2022
  • Through the fund an SFL financial partner has signed a $147,000 contract with a processor.
  • $395,000 planned for additional cashew fund loans to processors in 2023
  • 3 processors trained on HACCP food safety requirements and exporting cashew kernel internationally
  • 340 cooperative leaders received training on business plan development, bookkeeping, savings, and entrepreneurship
  • 10 commercial contracts signed linking buyers and cooperatives in 2022

Policy

  • Establishment of a Gambia cashew sector Steering Committee to influence policy
  • Policy development of a warehouse receipt law
  • Planned support for the cooperative movement through the review and amendment of the Cooperative Act
  • Diagnostic study on Cross-border trade of RCN and the establishment of Single Cashew Market in SeGaBi underway

LIFFT-UP Information Management

  • Development of Cashew Market Information System & Indicator Management System
  • 2,000 cashew plantations being mapped and georeferenced to facilitate organic certification for farmers
  • 8,752 people accessing cashew market data through social networks and the project website

Funding for the LIFFT-Cashew project provided by the Food for Progress Program of the United States Department of Agriculture

Website: www.lifftproject.com                                                LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifft-cashew-project

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LIFFTCashewSFL/                                            Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFFTCashew

Ousmane Ba

Cashew Value ChainNewsPress ReleasesProject ResultsPublications

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