Implementing Agency:
Department For International Development (DFIDEA)

Project Code: 063-502-003	Start Date: 01-Apr-89	End Date: 01-Mar-94
Commitment: £4,691,000	Status: Completed	Type of Funding: Bilateral - TC

Project Background:
The Cashew Production Improvement Pilot Project (CPIPP) is jointly funded by the Government and the World Bank (WB) under an extended International Development Association (IDA) agreement (CR-801-TA). It was initiated in August 1985. At the end of December 1987 which was the original completion date of the project, it was extended one and a half years to the end of June 1989. A cashew production improvement project was started because it was recognized that production had drastically fallen from the peak 1973/74 levels and that, if this decline could be stopped and reversed, it would lead to positive improvement for the farmers and the Government. While the decline was likely due to a complex set of biological, institutional, economic and social reasons, it was unclear exactly why it had happened. CPIPP was initiated as a pilot scheme because there were many unknowns regarding the most suitable approach to rehabilitate the cashew industry there was a lack of reliable information for a technical package there was a lack of socio-economic data pertaining to farmers and to the cashew industry as a whole and there was an inadequate number of trained and experienced staff to undertake a cashew rehabilitation programme. Cashew is widely grown as a cash crop throughout southern Tanzania, both inland and in coastal areas, and around the Ruvuma river. The majority of cashew stands are owned by smallholders of which there are an estimated 280,000, their total farm holding amounting to approximately 400,000 hectares. On average, the typical cashew farmer owns between one and two hectares of cashew which is often intercropped with cassava, cereals and legumes. Nationally, cashew exports rank third in value after cotton and coffee, despite a fall in production from 145,000 tons in 1974 to 17,000 tons in 1989. This decline has been largely attributed to a collapse in yields brought about by powdery mildew (Oidium anacardii), and to inadequate extension and poor producer prices.

Project Objectives:
The objectives of the project are to achieve long term growth by increasing the national production of cashew nuts for export.

Intended Outputs:
A simple method for quantitative determination of sulphur deposits on cashew trees. An evaluation of the long term effects of sulphur use on soils and nutrient status of cashew trees. Improved application systems for powdery mildew control.