Smallholder Cashew Production and Technology in Mozambique

Cashew is among the leading export crops in Mozambique, yet very little is known about costs and returns to production for the producers who depend upon it as source of income and food security. Productivity at the farm level is declining. This study gathered input/output data through multiple visits to 40 smallholder cashew households in three different regions of Nampula, currently the most cashew producing province of Mozambique. Additional data was drawn from secondary sources to construct crop budgets which fed into a smallholder linear programing model to examine strategies to improve cashew productivity and management practices in a context of a whole- farm system. The analysis concluded that improved technologies and management practices examined have a potential to raise on-farm cashew productivity. This needs to be accompanied by a stronger institutional and market reform investment program to improve incentives to growers, and make investments in rural infrastructure, research and extension services to bring about the expected increases in productivity to raise income, improve food security conditions and reduce poverty.