<p>MPWAPWA District Commissioner (DC) Jabir Shekimweri has embarked on a campaign to mobilise farmers to start growing cashew nuts, urging other leaders to join the campaign. </p><p>Launching the campaign dubbed 'Let us Build New Mpwapwa, Cashew is the Green Gold' recently, Mr Shekimweri said cashew nut farming would help Mpwapwa District boost economic development.</p> <p>He noted that the authorities in Mpwapwa had introduced cashew farming as a strategic crop to promote economic development in the district after a study conducted by Naliendele Agricultural Research Institute showed that the cash crop could be grown in the district.</p> <p>He thus urged farmers to utilise the opportunity of cashew nut farming to improve economic development in the district for cashew farming was in line with the fifth phase government's main agenda of industrial economy.</p> <p>He said cashew nut farming would offer Mpwapwa District another opportunity to set up processing plants, stressing that such farming would provide raw materials to processing plants in the district.</p> <p>Mr Shekimweri pointed out all villages in Mpwapwa with ideal soil and weather for cashew nut farming should set up village demonstration farms for farmers, who wanted to start growing cashew nuts to get knowledge on how to engage in productive farming.</p> <p>"Ward agricultural officers should help farmers get knowledge on modern farming of cashew nuts, including guidelines on planting and how to manage the crop. During the 2017/18 farming season, I directed every village to set up a demonstration farm, but none did it," he noted.</p> <p>For his part, Mpwapwa District Council Vice Chairman, George Fuime said Mpwapwa was set reap benefits from cashew nut farming in the coming five years after a positive response from farmers, stressing that cashew nut farming would promote economic development.</p> However, Mr Yusuph Mwawole, who is a cashew farmer with a 20-hectare farm of cashew nuts said availability of pesticides remained a big challenge to farmers in Mpwapwa, urging authorities to help them get all farm inputs to improve farming. <br><p></p>