Linking Infrastructure, Finance, and Farms to Cashew (LIFFT)
Food for Progress Guinea Bissau – Factsheet
Improving Infrastructure
- 66 km of agriculture feeder roads constructed or rehabilitated, linking more than 50 villages to markets
- 2,129 cash for work laborers employees
- 11 cashew nut warehouses (24958 m3) rehabilitated and used during the cashew season
- 1 new warehouse (4,440 m3) constructed and 2 underway (7,760 m3)
Increasing Cashew Nut Production and Quality
- Cashew farmer agricultural census conducted for 10,492 farmers, including 3,340 women, with the help of 14 facilitators
- 5,485 farmers trained on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
- 10,788 farmers applied Good Agricultural Practices on 40,276 ha of cashew plantations
- 20 chainsaws distributed to support pruning
- 3,022 farmers certified in organic cashew production
- 11 nurserymen trained and supported with equipment, with 3 modern shade structures
- 10,380 cashew seedlings produced and planted to replace aging cashew trees
- Additional 40 kg of seed and scions of new varieties have been imported from Vietnam and multiplication is underway with the INPA research institute and accredited nurseries.
Cooperative Development
- 12 cooperatives were established or reinforced including 6,538 members
- 274 Cooperative management staff received training on capacity building, administration and financial management, member management and services development
- Awareness raising campaign conducted for 13,867 farmers among 8 cooperatives, including 4,641 women, which included a half day training on collective sales and quality management
- 24 motorcycle and moto-tricycles, 24 scales, 6,318 jute bags 12 sets of office furniture, and 8 IT kits granted to cooperatives
Improving Access to Finance, Market Linkages and Trade
- $50,304,491 in financial transactions between buyers and cooperatives
- 160 commercial contracts signed linking buyers and cooperatives
- Facilitated the sale of 93,899.46 MT of RCN with a value of $76.335 M by 12 cooperatives
- $831,579 loaned in 2022 by the Cashew Fund to 5 processors in the SeGaBi region; used to purchase of 894.83 MT from Cooperatives for a value of $691,383
- $1,200,000 loaned to two processors in Guinea-Bissau in 2023 through the Cashew Fund
Policy
- Establishment of a Guinea-Bissau cashew sector Steering Committee to influence policy
- Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) law developed, validated, and awaiting Cabinet approval
- Diagnostic study underway on Cross-border trade of RCN and the establishment of Single Cashew Market in SeGaBi
LIFFT-UP Information Management
- Development of Cashew Market Information System & Indicator Management System
- 3,084 cashew farms have been mapped and georeferenced to facilitate organic certification for farmers
- 7,052 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
SFL PR/COM- BFS