The Odisha Cashew Processors Association (OCPA) has urged the state government to focus on increasing cashew plantations in the state to reduce their dependence on imports primarily from West African countries. The association has also appealed to the government to include cashews in mid-day meal (MDM) programmes in schools and Anganwadi centres, given its nutritional benefits for infants and children. As per OCPA, there are 500 cashew processing units in the state that process approximately 1.50 lakh metric tonnes of cashew annually, but only 80,000 to 90,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts are grown locally. Disconcerted with the dwindling production of cashew nuts in the states, the association has urged the government to expand cashew nut growing areas. “We are forced to import raw cashew nuts from West African countries as sufficient quantities of raw cashew nuts are not available locally. The risk involved in importing raw cashew nuts is that we have to make upfront payments for it without the ability to physically inspect their quality beforehand,†said OCPA president Prabhakar Patri. Further, according to OCPA, small-scale cashew processors in the state face competition from larger industries in importing cashew nuts and ensuring quality produce. “The cashew processing units in the state are tiny and hence they face many problems in competing with big industries while importing raw cashew nuts and also in maintaining their quality during processing. Local procurement of raw cashew nuts allows us to check the quality through physical inspection,†said OCPA secretary Monoshish Panda. Currently, cashew is cultivated in only approximately 12,000 hectares of land in Odisha while about five lakh workers and mostly women, are reliant on cashew processing units of the state directly or indirectly for a livelihood. “Expansion of cashew plantation areas would bolster employment and foster entrepreneurship,†said Panda. OCPA is also demanding that same facilities be provided by the government to cashew processing workers as it is being provided to kendu leaf pluckers in the region.