The Cameroonian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Minader), Gabriel Mbairobe, is chairing the International Cashew Nut Advisory Council (Cicc) for one year. So decided the ministers of the eleven member countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Senegal, Togo, Nigeria and Mali). three points will have furnished the exchanges of this 4th session: the review of the 2020 action plan adopted at the last session of Ouagadougou in Burkina FASO, the examination of the strategy of the CICC 2022-2026, the creation of technical commissions to make the CICC operational at a time when the organization is preparing to set up its headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. These non-permanent commissions will facilitate the implementation of the decisions of the General Assembly. A scientific commission has been retained as well as another for agricultural production. The third commission is responsible for processing. The work in Yaoundé also examined the admission of certain countries as ex officio members, in this case Mozambique, or observer members with regard to Cambodia in the transcontinental institution. The cashew tree was introduced in Cameroon in 1975 as part of the Green Sahel operation to curb the desertification of the Sahelian zones on the national territory. But the sector remains embryonic 45 years later, hence the commitment of the Head of State Paul BIYA to revitalize the value chain eight years ago by allocating a special budget to the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development. IRAD has been given the task of selecting and developing the production of quality seedlings. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, associated with the Ministry of Forests, has since been working to materialize the strategy built on purpose with the support of GIZ in 2018. Gabriel MBAÃROBE, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development is the current president of the CICC. Minister, what is the contribution of the cashew nut to the national economy? Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel MBAÃROBE: The cashew or cashew tree is currently identified in Africa as an emerging product, with strong economic and environmental potential and promising agricultural, economic, job creation (particularly in rural areas), fight against the advance desert and restoration of degraded landscapes, forests and rehabilitation of degraded forest lands. Cashew is a perennial plant that is mainly grown in the northern and extreme northern regions of Cameroon. It is cultivated on the one hand for its fruit and on the other hand, for the cashew nut, which gives two main products namely (i) the cashew kernel (rich in nutritional values ​​and consumed as a delicacy) and (ii) cashew apple (consumed as is or used for making juice, jam or alcohol or used in livestock feed when dried). A summary study carried out in 2014 made it possible, despite a lack of statistical data on the volumes of production and the actors concerned, to note that Cameroon has an estimated production of 108 tons of cashew, all of which reveals that By promoting it, this sector could contribute in a sustainable way to the socio-economic development of Cameroon. stakeholders therefore agreed that investing in cashew contributes (i) to agricultural development, (ii) to poverty reduction and income generation, (iii) to the creation of employment in production and processing, especially for women and young people, (iv) industrialization through the creation of local added value, (v) integration and linking of local businesses to international markets and, (vi) mitigation of climate change and migration. The national party has seen over time that long-term economic hopes are allowed given the international cashew nut trade. In a context of diversification of farm income sources, cashew is a promising product for the populations of northern Cameroon. How does the government ensure the development of the sector? Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel MBAÃROBE: Cameroon's vision for the development of the cashew sector by 2023 is to ensure its visibility on the international cashew market with an annual sale of at least 8,000 tons of good quality cashew nuts and at least least 400 tons of good quality cashew kernels. This vision is declined in a national strategy articulated around ten strategic axes namely: Improving access to improved cashew seeds; Support for the professionalization of cashew plant material production units; Facilitating access to other cashew production factors; Support for the increase in cashew production in well-managed territories for agriculture and livestock; Strengthening technical and material capacities for the processing of cashew nuts and apples; Improving access to finance, improved technologies and free zones and free points for the processing of cashew nuts; The establishment of a communication mechanism on the cashew market; The development of the regulatory texts necessary for the marketing of cashew products; Improving the business climate for the harmonious development of the cashew sector; Support for the organization of actors in the cashew sector. The concrete actions that have so far been carried out as part of the implementation of the said strategy are, among others, the following: The creation in 1972, in the locality of Sanguéré (near Garoua), of a pilot cashew plantation of 580 hectares Special authorization in 2019 for the import of 2 tons of improved seeds by private actors in the sector; The constitution in 2020 of a provision of 300 million FCFA for the import of improved seeds; The forecast for the acquisition of kits for 500 nurserymen and their training in the basins of the far north; Identification of the main actors in the three production zones; Cameroon's membership in the International Cashew Advisory Council (CICC). Over the 2018-2020 period, around 5 million plants will be made available to Cameroonian farmers to diversify their income. Enough to achieve, by 2024, “a national production of 150,000 tonnes and to process 60,000 tonnes of almondsâ€. Cameroon's ambition as part of its national strategy for the promotion and development of the cashew sector (also called cashew nuts) is to reach a production of 50,000 tonnes by 2025. What are the differential advantages of the Cashew sector for the development of the resilience of the producers concerned? Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel MBAÃROBE: Indeed, the cashew nut is a promising product for Cameroon on the agricultural, economic, environmental and social levels with flagship products which are: the cashew nut exported or valued at the national level, the cashew kernel consumed at the national level , and the cashew apple consumed directly, but also used for making juice, jam or alcohol This is a sector with high potential for creating added value whose processing involves walnuts and apples, which make it possible to have several by-products. Indeed, each constituent element of cashew is exploited or transformed to generate additional income. These are the nut, the skin inside the shell, the liquid inside the skin as well as the outer skin. Unfortunately, cashew nut processing is very low in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular, which does not benefit from the added value that this activity could bring them. It is important to note that the cashew nut is a real source of income diversification for agricultural producers in the cotton-growing area on the one hand, and of mitigating the harmful effects of climate change and the loss of biodiversity, in this case the reforestation on the other hand, anything that registers the promotion of this sector in a sustainable development perspective. What is Cameroon's interest in joining the International Cashew Advisory Council (CICC)? Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel MBAÃROBE: Cameroon joined on July 10 in Abidjan the International Cashew Advisory Council (CICC), the pan-African platform for the promotion and development of this cashew crop, of which it becomes the tenth member. Cameroon thus becomes the first in Central Africa to join the organization, which brings together all African producers and represents 60% of world supplies, estimated at 1.6 million tonnes in 2017. The country is counting on this approach to support the development of its sector, for which a strategic plan was unveiled last year, including a grant of 1.5 billion CFA francs (2.29 million euros) for the distribution of cashew trees in the country and the annual distribution of 1.2 million high-yielding seedlings. Indeed, cashew has strong economic and political potential for African countries and technical and financial partners (TFPs) are determined to invest in it in Africa. All the technical and financial partners (PTF) consider the promotion of the cashew sector as an opportunity to make a lasting contribution to the development of African producing countries. A growing number of TFPs are involved in the sector and contribute with the private and public actors who determine the value chain, to make it more competitive and sustainable. Global consumption and demand are increasing and to meet this demand, African production must grow by an average of 10% per year. It should be noted that more than one out of two cashew nuts comes from Africa, which makes the continent the largest producer in the world and that most of this production is the fruit of the work of 1.5 million small farmers. . With more than 50 different technical and financial partners involved in the five main cashew producing countries in West Africa alone, the cashew sector occupies an important place in the development sector. He felt that this commitment translates into increasingly significant investments in the sector. According to the latest calculations made in 2017 and whose update for 2018 is in progress, the annual investment is more than 110 million euros. This represents almost three times the amount of the annual investment in 2009. What are the expected prospects of Cameroon's integration into the International Cashew Advisory Council? Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gabriel MBAÃROBE: The realities of the cashew sector, as well as the market, require African cashew producing countries to come together to benefit from the best opportunities offered by the International Cashew Advisory Council.