Disparities in Agricultural Practices According to Cashew Nut Production Regions in Côte d’Ivoire and Probable Incidence on Nut Quality

Abstract

Improving the quality of agricultural products depends largely on production process. In the absence of data on farmers’ practices and the average quality of cashew nuts in Côte d’Ivoire, the present study aimed to provide a detailed description of the cashew nut production process. Thus, a survey was carried out in the zones of Mankono, Dabakala and Bondoukou among 386 cashew producers selected at random and interviewed using the face-to-face technique. The results revealed that intercropping was practiced in cashew cultivation (42% - 62% of the producers), modern cultivation technique (72% - 98% of the producers) but with rare use of selected seeds (8% - 20% of the producers), labour/ha during nut harvesting (2.6 - 12 workers/ha). Concerning the harvesting process, the time taken to pick the nuts varies from 1 to 14 days; the use of pesticides during harvesting (14% to 97% of the producers) and the absence of sorting of the nuts in 42% of the Mankono producers justify the probable conservation of defective and immature nuts in their production. For drying, the main dryers were the slatted table, the cemented surface and the tarpaulin, but other dryers were found such as the mosquito net, the propylene rice bag, the fertiliser bag and the black bag. Generally, the drying time of cashew nuts was very short: 2 days (43% - 77% of the producers interviewed) but surprisingly 1 day (7% - 27% of the producers interviewed). For Mankono, the use of chemicals was permanent during all stages of the cashew production process. Overall, the results suggest the need to assess the real impact of farmers’ practices on the quality of cashew nuts from Côte d’Ivoire.