Cashew Nuts And Sustainability: What Is Being Done To Improve Working Conditions
Cashew nuts are widely consumed globally, particularly in Europe and Northern America. In fact, sales are expected to increase by a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% from now all through 2026. Global trade in raw cashews more than doubled between 2000 and 2018 to 2.1 billion kilograms annually.
Unfortunately, for such a booming industry, it is sad to see that farmers producing cashew nut crops for the rest of the world have to work under poor working conditions. Some cashew nut supply chains have even been reported to subject children to abhorring working conditions, making this industry dreary for their workers.
However, due to the impact of the cashew nut industry, several leading companies in this trade have turned to help the suppliers. It has been noted that almost all agricultural works in this sector are among the poorest in the world. Most live in small, rural areas across Asia and Africa. Often, they don't have enough to feed their families, afford healthcare, or even send their children to school. In most places, cashew nut farming isn’t helping people. It’s just trapping families in the cycle of poverty.
What’s Been Done About This?
The Cashew Trail strategy has been launched by the Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) to tackle this issue. In conjunction with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, this strategy aims to fight poverty by increasing average yields by 50% and helping cashew households to improve their livelihoods.
Along with this opportunity, the Cashew Trail aims to make commitments around health, education, diversity, and climate to ensure that by 2030:
100% of own processing volumes are traceable to farmer group-level
250,000 cashew households benefit from improved livelihoods through training and access to inputs like fertilizer
100% of children from cashew communities for directly sourced volumes benefit from investments into education infrastructure
30% of farmers indirectly sourced cashew communities are women
50% reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission intensity in OFI cashew supply chains
What Will This Initiative Do For Cashew Farmers?
This program aims to ensure that cashew nuts are farmed and supplied sustainably. This means that everyone involved in the process. From suppliers to traders to local stores and also the customers; everyone benefits from the cashew trade fairly. Many leading cashew companies have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of farming communities globally.
This is an amazing initiative which will have long-term benefits for suppliers as well as farmers too. As low-income farming families are exposed to a higher standard of living, they will have extra income to spend on further improving their crops, leading to better quality yields as well as adapting to the global change in climatic conditions. This will ensure the long-term prosperity of the cashew nut trade as well.
With the ability to negotiate directly with suppliers, having a larger share in the profits generated, cashew farmers will definitely be afforded better opportunities for their business as well as their families.
