The GIZ project Competitive Cashew initiative (ComCashew) is part of the GIZ program on the “Broad-scale Promotion of Agricultural Value Chains in Africa”. ComCashew (previously known as African Cashew Initiative (ACi) is funded in its third phase by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Jointly with private and public actors, ComCashew constitutes a new era of multi-stakeholder partnership aiming to achieve a sustainable poverty reduction in the project countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, by enhancing the competitiveness of African cashew smallholders, processors and other actors in the value chain.

The cashew value chain offers an important potential for employment and wealth creation, climate change mitigation through climate smart agriculture and the economic empowerment of women and youth, especially in vulnerable rural areas. Therefore, the adoption of a value chain approach to promote all the actors along the cashew value chain is key to a sustainable development of the sector. ComCashew provides support in areas ranging from research, to production, processing, marketing, capacity development and policy advice. Ultimately, new opportunities for employment, especially for women, along the value chain have been created, specifically in rural areas, thereby ensuring an increase in and diversification of income.

After having built a basis for the cashew sector in the six African project countries through trainings for farmers and processors and through activities linking them to national and international markets, ComCashew aims now – in its third phase – to consolidate these efforts. It is putting more emphasis on establishing a sustainable relationship between the chain actors, on transferring knowledge and building sustainable institutions, providing trainings, business advice and services. The objective of ComCashew is to increase income of cashew farmers and processing factory workers.

The objective of ComCashew focuses on four key areas:

• Production: Improve productivity and increase quantity and quality of production.
• Processing: Improve efficiency, quantity and quality of processing.
• Supply Chain Linkages: Build sustainable market linkages at national, regional and international levels.
• Sector Organisation: Establish an enabling environment: Advocate policies that favour the cashew sector.