Cashew nut farming business is an area of business with huge potentials. Although this is the case, knowing how to start cashew plantation business has been a challenge. In a bid to establish your cashew plantation business, several factors need to be considered. Hence for meaningful progress, the business plan is indispensable. As the name suggests, this is the guiding light of your business. It charts the way forward by setting short, medium and long term goals. This significantly enhances the chances for success.
Cashew business has for many years been a major source of food and income generation for many homes and corporate ventures. The trees are usually grown for their kernels which when roasted have a very pleasant taste.
The demand for cashew nuts is on a daily increase. The global cashew market is projected to register a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% during the forecast period of 2021-2026 further proving that the cashew business is good. Over time it has become an economically important commodity for countries such as India, Nigeria, Vietnam (among others) who have a large market for it. Vietnam tops the list in terms of exports and processing whereas India is leading for Cashew nut production, processing, consumption, and exportation. Processing industries in India have the highest production rate worldwide.
Tips You Need To Start Cashew Plantation Business
Starting cashew plantation business is serious work. However, this is financially rewarding at the end. In summary, to start cashew plantation business requires a lot of time (usually several years) before it starts producing cashew. Here, a nursery is provided where the seeds grow to young trees. By transplanting these to their permanent location, a gradual process of growth commences. These trees need care until they are mature to grow without watering. It is however necessary to note that not everyone wishing to start this business needs to grow a cashew plantation. Here are the tips you need to start cashew plantation business:
Understand the Relevance of Cashew
The effort committed to improved cashew cultivation shows its relevance to the economy. Hence the acceptance it has gotten among farmers. Due to its high nutritional value, demand currently outweighs supply. This is therefore good news for investors. An interesting feature of this crop is its wide demand. By wide demand, we mean global demand for cashew. Currently Nigeria is unable to meet up export demands. Cashew nuts has significantly contributed to Nigeria’s revenue generation. Starting cashew business in Nigeria requires the right knowledge.
The cashew value chain engages alot of participants. This implies alot of opportunities for investments. However, to benefit from this, knowledge is key. This is where this article comes handy.
Understand Site Selection
Cashew plants ca be grown in a variety of soil types, but the production will be much better on good/fertile soils. Deep and well-drained sandy loam soils without a hardpan are considered best for cashew farming.
These plants can also thrives on sandy soils, but mineral deficiencies in the plants are more likely to occur. Water stagnation and flooding are not congenial for cashew.
Heavy clay soils with poor drainage and soils with pH more than 8 are not suitable for cashew farming. Excessive saline and alkaline soils are also not good for these plants. Red sandy loam, lateritic soils and coastal sands with slightly acidic pH are best for cashew farming.
Choosing Where to Focus On
As previously stated, starting a cashew nut business requires you to decide the area you would make the most impact on. By impact, we mean being effective. Cashew nut business has an attractive value chain where you can focus your attention on. You may want to process your cashew nuts before selling, or just selling them directly. Whatever the case, knowing the right strategy that will yield the highest financial reward is important. Processing these nuts significantly increases the market value. However, striking a balance between cost and profit is important.
Climate Requirement For Cashew Farming
The cashew tree is cultivated in the tropics between 25°N and 25°S, and is well-adapted to hot lowland areas with a pronounced dry season, where the mango and tamarind trees also thrive.
Temperature range between 20°C and 30°C is considered best suited for cashew farming. Cashew needs a climate with a well-defined dry season of at least 4 months to produce the best yields.
Register Your Business
Starting a cashew nut business of worth requires you to register your business. However, registration depends on your scale of operation (scale of operation will be further explained below). Gaining official approval enables the business to function at a much more bigger capacity. Registered agro-allied businesses stand to benefit from a lot of incentives. You may want to take this serious as a new start-up will require all the break it can get to enable it stabilize. Domestic and foreign supply requires you to have a license obtained through registration. To register your business, locate the CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) office nearest to you.
Choose a Variety
Many different cashew varieties available to choose from. You can choose the dwarf variety as it is highly productive and start fruiting faster.
Why Cashew Nuts is a Profitable Business
Edible cashew nuts have been used as a snack for a long time and are now taking centre stage as premium-quality snack food. Cashews are also used as one of the main ingredients in preparing various sweet and savoury dishes, especially in Asian cuisine. The starch content of cashew nuts is about 23%, which is a lot higher than most other nuts and makes them suitable for thickening sauces.
Moreover, nowadays, cashews are used in mueslis, energy bars, cookies, chocolates, and ice creams. Cashews are known to be high in nutrients, such as copper, which improve bone health, as one ounce of cashew contains 622 micrograms of copper. Nevertheless, cashews have an inflation-driven consumption pattern, as reported by the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council.
Cashew nuts have been discovered to richly contain heart-friendly monounsaturated fatty acids like oleic, and palmitoleic acids. They are relatively high in fibre compared to peanuts, and they help gain a healthy weight by improving digestive function. Such high-value nutrition has prompted snack manufacturers to launch several cashew-based snacks to meet the demand, such as the ready-to-drink cashew milk, which acts as a lactose-free milk substitute. Due to increasing health consciousness among consumers in the European region, there has been a growing trend of cashew nut consumption. Recently, cashew nuts are also increasingly being used as an ingredient in spreads and snack bars (especially organic), boosting cashews consumption overall.
The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and arms production.
