SOLVING THE CASHEW CONUNDRUM

Mighty Earth is working to halt and reverse nature loss as a result of the cashew boom in Côte d’Ivoire

Cashews have become one of the world’s favorite foods, with a huge increase in global demand since the 1990s. Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa is the world’s leading producer of raw cashew nuts with an annual production of around one million tonnes. Raw cashews are the second agricultural export of Côte d’Ivoire, after cocoa, and the crop has become an important source of livelihood for rural households in some regions. But the remarkable success of the crop in the north of the country has been accompanied by the massive clearance of wooded savannas to make way for cashew farms, destroying native habitats critical for rare and endangered wildlife.

Mighty Earth has undertaken pioneering research, and is engaging with government officials, traders, supermarkets, civil society groups, cooperatives, and scientists to devise more sustainable approaches to cashew production, and restore degraded landscapes.