Nampula Surpasses Cashew Marketing Target

3 June 2011

Maputo — The northern Mozambican province of Nampula, which is the country’s largest producer of cashew nuts, surpassed its marketing target for the 2010/2011 campaign by six per cent, according to the Provincial Governor, Felismino Tocoli.

In a report delivered to President Armando Guebuza, who has been on a working visit to the province since Monday, Tocoli said that the province has marketed 49,820 tonnes of cashew nuts, against a target of 47,000. This result did not only beat the target by six per cent – it was also a 75 per cent increase on the disappointing figure from the 2009-2010 harvest.

Tocoli added that in order to grant priority to supplying nuts to the local cashew processing industry, and avoid uncontrolled export of raw nuts, staff from the National Cashew Institute (INCAJU) are ensuring that credentials are only granted to exporters who have first supplied sufficient amounts of nuts to the Mozambican procesisng factories.

Tocoli added that 302,231 cashew saplings were distributed to households, schools and associations producers in 2010 – which was 0.7 per cent more than planned. The schools are in a programme entitled “Let’s plant more cashew trees”.

The governor said that the province is using a radio programme “Countryside and development”, broadcast by community radios, to inform farmers of the producer prices for various crops. He believed that this initiative strengthened the farmers’ hand in negotiating prices with buyers.

Tocoli said there are now six community radios broadcasting in the province – in the districts of Nacla, Meconta, Erati, Ribaue, Mossuril and Memba.

Under the United States’ Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), 7,000 coconut palm saplings had been planted in 2010, and a further 10,000 were distributed to 338 beneficiaries of the Agricultural Income Support programme in Angoche and Moma districts. During the same period, Tocoli added, 50 hectares of coconut palms affected by lethal yellowing disease were destroyed in the same districts.

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