About LIFFT Cashew
Shelter For Life International (SFL) is implementing a six-year program Linking Infrastuctures, Finances and Farmers to Cashew (LIFFT-Cashew) in Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau (SeGaBi) funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that aims to develop and strengthen the necessary links in the cashew value chain to support an integrated regional trade network in the chain over the long term. The program objectives are to improve quality of raw cashew nuts; promote collective sales by farmers; and increase local processing, of RCN. Program components include Infrastructure, Access to Finance, Access to Market, Agriculture and Access to Market Information.
Key Program Activities
Improve Cashew Trade Infrastructure
- Rehabilitate key feeder and connector roads
- Construct and Rehabilitate community-managed storage facilities
Develop And Strengthen Key Market Linkages
- Organize producer groups for improved bargaining power
- Create and grow key buyer-seller relationships
- Improve regional integration of the cashew sector
Facilitate Access To Agricultural Financial Services
- Provide technical assistance and facilitate access to finance for cashew agribusinesses across three countries
- Establish a Cashew Fund to invest in cashew enterprises
- Leverage international private investment to measurably accelerate local SMEs
Achievements
Improve Productivity Of Smallholder Cashew Farmers
- Promote good agricultural practices to renew aging and overplanted orchards
- Support and develop cashew nurseries and demo plots
Increase Access To Critical Market Information
- Establish a cashew market data platform for stakeholders
$105.9 million value of sales of beneficiaries
$425,000 in loans and $69,851,719 as pre-financing from buyers were disbursed to farmers
36,385 ha improved by application of good agricultural practices
122.350 MT volume of commodities sold by beneficiaries
10 storage (9747 m3) rehabilitated; 2 storage (4800 m3) constructed
18,260 Cashew farmers trained on GAPs, 11,176 applied practices in their field
28,599 Number of direct individual beneficiaries
135 KM of feeder roads constructed, and 4,686 jobs created
