ICAR blueprint to up cashew output

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the apex body for agricultural research in India, has prepared a blueprint to increase the cashewnut production in India in a phased manner and achieve self-sufficiency by 2013-14. Presently, Indian processors import over 600,000 tonnes of raw nuts to meet the demand which is equal to the domestic production.

The estimated demand for cashewnuts this fiscal is 1.4 million tonnes, while the domestic production is likely to be 1.2 million tonnes.

“We have prepared a detailed action plan in consultation with all stakeholders including scientists and private sector to increase the production of cashewnut in a phased manner. We have estimated that by 2013-14 we will be able to increase cashewnut production 2.5 times which will be sufficient to plug the demand and supply gap,” N P Singh, director, ICAR Research Complex in Goa said.

The blueprint was prepared at a recent brainstorming session called by the Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development, Kochi, attended by scientists and experts from the Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur in Karnataka, and other ICAR research centres, agricultural universities, government departments and private sector representatives.

The area under cashewnut in India was around 923,000 hectares in 2009-10, producing 613,000 tonnes. The average productivity was 695 kg per hectare as against the global productivity of 816 kgs per hectare.

The cashew processing capacity in India is about 1.2 million tonnes annually and the processors depend on the imports of raw nuts from African countries for the remaining 50 per cent of the requirement. Already, Vietnam is competing to export raw nuts.

This country has surpassed the production and productivity levels and overtook India as the top exporter of cashew kernels in the world. “Therefore, it is a big challenge to boost the domestic production of raw cashewnuts,” Singh said.

Farm technology demonstrations could be the need of the hour to demonstrate the efficacy of the technologies and effectively motivate cashew growers to adopt the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for strengthening the Indian cashew industry to eventually face global challenges, he said.

“We need to create more awareness and motivate farmers to adopt scientific cultivation of cashew in the country,” Singh added.