Tanzania is one of the world’s leading cashew-producing countries, ranking second in Africa and sixth globally. In the 2024/2025 season, cashew production reached 528,262.23 metric tons.
To ensure that production reaches 700,000 metric tons in the 2025/2026 season and 1,000,000 metric tons by 2030, as part of efforts to contribute to the 10/30 agenda, the government has employed 500 young professionals under the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) program. These professionals have been deployed across the cashew-growing regions of Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma, Pwani, and Tanga.
Currently, the exercise of updating cashew farmers’ information is progressing successfully at village offices where farmers’ plantations are found. This initiative is managed by agricultural officers employed by the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania under the BBT program, in collaboration with village leaders.
Devotha Ngahi, a resident of Nyangao B Village in Nyangao Ward, who has already updated her information, states that the process is going smoothly and hopes to harvest more than she did last season.
Similarly, Mohamed Hassan Mteka, a farmer from the same village who has also completed the update, reports that he harvested three metric tons of cashewnuts last season and aims to double his yields this year.
Nyangao Ward has two BBT agricultural officers overseeing cashew farming activities. Bakari Rashid Kambona, one of the officers, reported that as of Thursday, March 27, 2025, they had successfully updated the records of 1,175 farmers, with a target of 1,500 farmers.
Another officer, Tushabe Joseph Deogratius, highlighted the strong response and cooperation from farmers and sometimes, the officers have had to visit farmers in their villages to assist them in the update process.
The cashew farmers’ information update exercise is conducted from Monday to Saturday at village executive offices near cashew plantations, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The process officially began on February 17, 2025, and is scheduled to conclude on March 31, 2025.
