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Cashew nut growers' plantations in Savè, Benin, experience increased crop yields and incomes when growers adopt better planting practices and follow the advice of agricultural researchers.

Agricultural yields on cashew plantations are generally low in Benin. They range from 300 to 600 kg per hectare. Experts attribute this underperformance to poor farming practices on cashew plantations.

By adopting new fertilization methods, plantation productivity increases.

INRAB, theInstitut National de Recherche Agronomique du Bénin, the country's leading agricultural research institute conducted fertilization tests on cashew plantations in rural areas from 2015 to 2017. The results show that when NPK mineral fertilizers are applied to cashew trees, their productivity increases.

In addition to good tree health, with darker green foliage, fertilized cashew plantations record a significant increase in the quantity of nuts produced. Good foliage is a sign of good cashew tree health, say the researchers.

The case of Mr Hyppolite Kotchadan

Cashew tree fertilization tests were carried out on 0.40 ha belonging to Hyppolite Kotchadan. In 2017, this grower harvested 420 kg of cashew nuts. This represents double the quantity harvested from the same area before the fertilization trial began in 2015. This quantity harvested corresponds to a yield of 1050 kg/ha. Mr. Kotchadan claims that the cashew nuts harvested from his fertilized plot represent around a quarter of the total quantity harvested from his 5 ha plantation.

The fertilized area occupies less than a tenth of the total plantation area. In 2017, Mr. Kotchadan sold 1,700 kg of cashew nuts for a total value of 1,358,000 million FCFA, or around 2,700 US dollars.

Thanks to the profits from his harvest, he was able to buy a motorcycle which now enables him to get around more easily.

Encouraged by the results, Mr Kotchadan is now saving money and plans to fertilize other parts of his plantation.

As part of the implementation of the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (PPAAO), a project has been implemented in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal, aimed at improving job creation and boosting the incomes of cashew value chain players.

Over 4420 producers, processors and students have been supported by this project. The cashew nut industry is becoming an increasingly important source of income for most West African economies. Three countries in the region (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Benin) rank among the world's top five exporters of raw cashew nuts.