Press Release

USDA PRO-Cashew Project Hosts Virtual Information Sessions for Agricultural Extension Grant Program

Series of sessions will be hosted in Ghana (July 13, 2020), Nigeria (July 15) and Côte d’Ivoire (July 17, 2020)

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire  The U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded West Africa Cashew Project (PRO-Cashew), implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization headquartered in Washington D.C. will host several information sessions to launch the first series of grants aimed at developing the cashew value chain in three West African countries. The informational sessions will be hosted in collaboration with the African Cashew Alliance (ACA) and are virtual in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These sessions will focus primarily on grants for agricultural extension—the first of four lines of intervention covered by PRO-Cashew—and will be held on July 13, 15 and 17 for Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively. The sessions will target a range of stakeholders, including agricultural cooperatives and cashew producer organizations, input suppliers and nurserymen, cashew nut processors and exporters, nongovernmental organizations, state institutions, research and extension institutes, and others.

“PRO-Cashew is designed to leverage a full complement of interventions to improve the cashew sector all along the value chain,” said PRO-Cashew Managing Director and Chief of Party Jean Francois Guay. “As we launch the project’s agricultural extension grant component, we encourage all stakeholders in these three countries interested in these grants, to contact our project team.”

The sessions—which will include introductory presentations, experience-sharing, and question-and-answer periods, will provide participants with information on general membership and application submission conditions, the process for accessing grants, and the impact and results expected at the end of this program.

The sessions will also outline the overall goals of PRO-Cashew and its main lines of interventions, and introduce attendees to grants available through the program for:

  • Agricultural extension: Subsidies on agricultural extension will strengthen the support and advisory services provided to producers by farmers’ organizations, and by agri-food companies involved in the product supply chain.
  • Renovation and rehabilitation (R&R) of cashew orchards: Grants for cashew orchards R&R will demonstrate to farmers how this practice can have immediate positive effects on productivity and will gradually help improve orchard yield. They will also help introduce and create demand for high-performance plant material through the establishment of national centers supported by researchers, nurseries and companies for the distribution of improved plants in the cashew-producing regions of the selected countries.
  • Resilience and innovation for adaptation to climate change: Grants for resilience and adaptation to climate change will support the testing and adoption of innovative practices that strengthen climate resilience, as well as provide documentation on return on investment to support the promotion and large-scale adoption of innovative practices for climate resilience.
  • Financing of equipment and services for producers in cashew producing regions: Subsidies for cashew plantation equipment and management services will lead to the creation of a service provider network in rural areas for orchard rehabilitation and renovation. The improvement of post-harvest services will also be supported by the construction of drying areas, storage infrastructure and the installation of appropriate systems to improve the traceability of products from cashew production areas.

These grants will be awarded and implemented in accordance with USDA and U.S. government regulations governing grants, as well as PRO-Cashew’s internal grant management policies. The project plans to extend the geographic coverage of the project in 2021 to offer grants for climate change, orchard R&R, and equipment and services in Benin and Burkina Faso.

Cashew value chain stakeholders interested in accessing these grant packages can contact the USDA PRO-Cashew project team at grant@cnfa-procashew.org

More information on PRO-Cashew can be found here.

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About CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) is an international agricultural development organization that specializes in the design and implementation of sustainable, enterprise-based agricultural initiatives. We work with businesses, foundations, governments, and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based, agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity, and improve access to inputs and financing in 46 countries around the world.