Tanzanian cashew farmers in the Tanga region have asked the government to repossess idle cashew nut processing factories and give them use of the facilities through co-operatives
At the cashew farmers’ meetings held at in the Tanga and Mkinga districts, the farmers claimed that they would use the facilities to full capacity.
The chairman of the Cashewnut Industry Development Trust Fund, Athuman Nkinde, also discussed the Tanzanian government's involvement in encouraging farmers not to sell raw cashew nut.
Nkinde explained that if cashew farmers wanted to eradicate poverty, they should process their products, which would allow for the development of a by-product that can increase its added value.
The chairman's recent visit to Tanga was in a bid to promote the growth and revival of cashew nut crop due to the crop growing well in Tanga and Mkinga districts.
Tanzanian farmers, however, have found the market to be unreliable because of the high prices of inputs.
Plans are underway for a Vietnamese firm to invest in cashew nuts processing in the East African country, in which about 80 per cent will be for export and 20 per cent would be sold to the local market.