<p></p><p>A number of cashew plants in the southern province of Binh Phuoc have been chopped down en mass in a move to switch to rubber, as farmers are losing patience with the repeatedly slipping prices of cashew nuts.Not only the old trees are cut down now, felling cashew trees has become a trend that has spread through many localities in the province.Along the street connecting Dong Xoai Town to Phuoc Long District are piles of cashew logs that are more than 3m height. Chopped cashew plants can be spotted everywhere in the country’s largest cashew-growing area.</p> <p>“Only by replacing the cashew with rubber trees can I hope to make ends meet,” says Ma Van Quang of Dong Phu District, after felling a cashew tree with his electric saw.“Farmers around here have all destroyed their cashew plants,” he adds.Quang says he did try to patiently wait for cashew nut prices to rise, but “the more I waited, the lower prices got.”At a nearby plant, Tran Ngoc Tuan and his family have also been cutting down their cashew trees. Four out of six hectares of cashew have been felled, he says.“Though I have been growing nothing but cashew over the last ten years, it’s time to stop as income from the tree is even lower than planting cassava,” says Tuan.Nguyen Thi Quynh Giao, who runs a facility that buy cashew logs in Bu Gia Map District, says she has never witnessed the cutting of so many cashew trees.“This area will soon have no cashew trees left, given the speed of destruction,” she comments. </p><p><b>No connection with processors </b></p><p>Tran Ngoc Kinh, head of the provincial Plant Protection Agency, says farmers no longer want to grow cashews as cashew nut prices have halved against the same period last year.“ The average price last year was around VND37,000-40,000 a kg, and peaked at VND45,000 a kg.“But this year prices are at only VND26,000 a kg,” elaborates Kinh.One of the reasons for this is the lack of cooperation between businesses and farmers, he adds.“No businesses in this area, the largest cashew-growing region nationwide, have ever established a connection with farmers to develop the raw material areas.“Farmers work hard on their plants, but businesses only show up to at harvest time to buy the product.“And yet some processors neglect domestic cashew nuts but turn to buy from … Africa instead,” he explains.</p><br><p></p><br>