The Challenge

On the west coast of India lies the beautiful port city of Ratnagiri – a district in the largest cashew producing state of Maharashtra – where 90% of cashew farmers in the region live below the poverty line.

The majority of these farmers are smallholders with less than half a hectare of land who rely on family and casual labor at harvest time. These smallholder farmers are spread across remote areas and face logistical barriers such as inefficient and unreliable transportation of produce from remote locations to processing facilities and improper storage between collection points. Coupled with little to no agricultural training, direct access to markets, or affordable working capital, these smallholder cashew farmers produce low yields and poor quality cashews that fetch a low price and perpetuate a vicious cycle of poverty.

During cashew harvest months, the vast majority of these smallholder farmers are wholly dependent on the income they receive from the sale of their cashew nuts while the cashew apple is discarded and left to rot on the farm, often attracting wild animals that can damage crops.

The Innovation

Our new enterprise, Acceso Cashew Enterprise (“ACE”), will purchase both cashew apples and cashew nuts from smallholder farmers and consolidate, deliver, and sell directly to high quality buyers such as PepsiCo. As a result, ACE will provide efficient processes to consolidate a fragmented farmer base and cut out the multiple, inefficient intermediaries that previously cut into profits for farmers. We will bring these farmers into a new cashew fruit supply chain and favorably reposition them in the local cashew nut value chain.

In addition, ACE’s agro program will offer training and education on a variety of topics including composting, terracing and pruning as well as provide access to inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers. These practices will equip the farmers with the skills and resources required to increase the productivity and quality of their cashew crop. The economic value of a single cashew tree has the potential to more than double through best agricultural practices and input. This translates into improved margins and income for the farmer and other disadvantaged players in the value chain – a win-win situation for both the farmers and buyers, who will receive a consistent supply of superior product that meets the strict quality control regulations demanded by high-end markets.

The Impact

Our enterprise will effectively remove the typical barriers between smallholder farmers and quality, large market buyers. The sale of cashew apples to PepsiCo will help to facilitate the manufacturing of juices that use a highly nutritious substitute to the traditional apple. The cashew apple has approximately five times the vitamin C content of an orange and 40 times that of a traditional apple. By facilitating the sale of both cashew apples and cashew nuts to large markets while simultaneously improving the yield and quality of the crop, we can more than double farmer income in 5 years. Initially, ACE will bring over 2,000 smallholder Maharashtra farmers into a brand new value chain for cashew apples, and will favorably reposition them in the local cashew nut value chain. In the long term, ACE, in conjunction with strategic partners, aims to scale this impact to 15,000 farmers.