(Business in Cameroon) - The Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) recently distributed 50,000 cashew seedlings to farmers in Meiganga, Adamaoua. Officially, the distributed plant material will help develop 500 hectares of cashew plantations. 

This distribution is one of the results of the special funding prescribed in 2018 by the Head of State to help the IRAD produce cashew seedlings on a large scale for the promotion and development of the cashew sector in Cameroon.  In 2018, with the support of the German Cooperation, the country introduced a cashew value chain development strategy for that purpose.

Although cashew nuts were introduced to Cameroon in the 1970s as part of a government program to combat desertification, this cash crop adapted to hot zones is still little known in the country. However, in view of the opportunities offered by cashew nuts, Cameroon intends to use them to supplement cotton, which is still the only cash crop grown in the country's northern regions (North, Far North, Adamaoua).

BRM