According to Massogbé Touré, Group Director of the Société Ivoirienne de Traitement d’Anacarde, all stakeholders involved in cashew nut production are aware that the AfCFTA agreement was primarily established to enhance trade among African countries and increase farmers’ income.
An increase in trade and exports of agricultural products within the region would help increase domestic production, while also improving the quality of products over the next few years. The agreement will provide access to a much larger market with promising economic prospects.
The agreement will reassure stakeholders by maximising Côte d’Ivoire’s production capacity. However, it will be difficult to increase output if farmers are discouraged by low prices. Better incentives and public aid should be provided to encourage farmers to develop their products further and increase their income.
The 2021 cashew commercialisation campaign achieved remarkable results. Côte d’Ivoire must capitalise on this to boost the processing of raw nuts by acquiring modern technological tools that will maintain these high production levels, competitiveness gains and improved quality standards. Through all measures, companies hope to increase raw cashew nut processing to more than 400,00 tons over the next four years.
Source: oxfordbusinessgroup.com