<p></p><p>Governments and businesses from three East and Southern African countries have started preparations for the Seventh annual conference of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA) slated for next month in Porto Novo, Benin. The countries are Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. Speaking to members of the press in Dar es Salaam at the weekend, Chairman of Cashew nuts Processors Association in Tanzania (CPAT) Idrisa Kilangi, said the event is going to be the world’s largest in the cashew nut industry with more than 450 participants expected to attend.</p> <p>The conference to be held on September 17 to 20 will be attended by farmers, processors, traders, exporters, service providers, retailers, equipment manufacturers, bankers and government representative, he said. According to him, more than 70 international experts in all aspects of the cashew value chain from farming to marketing will host workshops and panels. Explaining further, he said, as president of ACA advisory board, he has seen the immense benefits of having an international alliance among African countries using a similar vision to East and Southern Africa which would greatly contribute to building a more competitive industry in the region. </p><p>“Facilitating dialogue with neighbouring cashew producing countries will promote valuable exchanges relating to best practices in processing, international standards and strategies, promoting investments which are necessary factors for the overhaul of the Tanzanian processing industry,” he stated. Statistics shows that Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique grow more than 220,000 tons of cashew nuts. </p><p>The rapidly increasing demand for the crop has created an industry that contributes to the livelihoods of about 500,000 smallholder farmers in the region. Kilangi noted that the conference has been organised to find out ways of maximising returns to farmers by adding value to the crop through local processing.</p><br><p></p>