Cashew and rice in West Africa
West Africa is currently the world’s largest cashew producing region. However, only 5% of the raw cashew nuts are processed locally, the remaining 95% are processed in Asia (after which the products are shipped to Europe). At the same time, West African rice production only partly meets domestic demand, and a large quantity of rice is imported from Asia.
GIZ’s
Competitive African Rice Initiative (GIZ/CARI) and
Competitive Cashew Initiative (GIZ/ComCashew) projects aim to increase the competitiveness and productivity of rice and cashew value chains in East and West Africa. Through a multi-stakeholder approach that involves all actors along the value chain, the projects aim to improve the productivity of farmers, boost processing and build linkages to national and international markets.