Tanzania’s cashew industry is growing rapidly. The country is Africa’s second-largest producer of raw cashew nuts, with smallholder farmers producing more than 85% of the crop. Raw cashew nut production reached around 617,683 tonnes in the 2025/26 season—nearly 17% more than the previous year. 

Higher production does not automatically mean that more value is retained locally or shared more widely. Despite several ministries promoting local nut processing, much of the crop is still exported as raw products, limiting opportunities for jobs and commercial value in Tanzania. But even as local processing grows, farmers and cooperatives cannot always meet increased demand. Farmers need access to quality inputs, finance, and extension services to maintain productive orchards and trust that investments in improved practices will generate returns. Cooperatives need sound governance, reliable records, and the business skills to negotiate with buyers and meet certification requirements.  

Tanzania’s next cashew chapter, therefore, depends on more than just producing nuts or building more processing facilities.

Amama Farms Ltd., located in the Tandahimba District of Tanzania, became a subsidiary of the Monchy Food Company (MFC) in 2022. Amama Farms buys cashews through AMCOs, which brings together smallholder farmers, and processes the nuts locally. MFC is a Dutch food company that sustainably sources nuts, seeds, and dried foods.  

With support from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), MFC is working with SNV and the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) to strengthen local processing and production capabilities. Under the RVO-supported Cashew Value Chain Improvement Project, the partners are bringing in the finance, technical knowledge, and inclusive coordination needed to upgrade the industry.

Tanzania’s government aims to increase cashew nut production to one million tonnes by 2030. Growing cashew production can benefit farmers, AMCOs, and processors, but only if each has a reason to invest—and if that growth protects land, water, and soil in a changing climate. 

Through Amama Farms, MFC provides AMCOs with a route to global consumers by formalising agreements, processing the crop, and applying international traceability and certification standards. The rest of the partnership strengthens the conditions that allow farmers and AMCOs to respond to demand.  

This is the “Pamoja kwa Thamani” way: bringing value together. 

At cooperative level, three AMCOs are preparing for sustainability certification in alignment with the Cashew Board of Tanzania’s advice to apply wider use of sustainability standards in the sector. The completion of this step is set to be a first for Tanzania’s cashew industry. To prepare for the certification, AMCO members are learning to manage farmer registries, assess risks, and improve internal management systems and compliance records, making traceability more credible for buyers. 

Furthermore, they’re receiving gender equality and social inclusion training, with the aim of opening more membership and leadership opportunities for women and young farmers, and developing the necessary guardrails to prevent unfair practices, such as child labour. A revolving fund has been established based on a Village Saving Loans Association model. Under this model, members make regular contributions to a collective fund from which farmers can borrow to purchase essential inputs for cashew production.  

At the farmer level, more than 300 farmers have received training in climate-smart agricultural techniques and soil management, safe pesticide use, and ways to diversify income beyond the cashew season. Many cashew trees are old and have become less productive, so TARI is also providing cooperative members with technical guidance and new seedlings. Safe pesticide use also matters at home. For Rehema Hassani, a farmer in Chitondra AMCO, learning how to store pesticides safely prompted a change in where they kept farm chemicals. “I used to store all my cashew farm agrochemicals right inside my bedroom to keep them safe. I thought I was protecting my investment—but I was slowly poisoning my family. Since moving the chemicals out of our living space, the morning complaints and chronic coughs are gone, and my energy is back."

Tanzania’s growing cashew production creates an opportunity to retain and share more value locally. Better orchard practices help farmers supply more consistent quality; stronger AMCO recording and management can help cooperatives meet buyer requirements; and local processing helps create more jobs for the country.  

Realising that opportunity will depend on partnerships that connect investments, align commercial and development incentives, and remain accountable for who benefits and how.  

The work around Amama Farms offers an early test of the approach, starting with a functioning commercial relationship, strengthening the system around it, and measuring whether the gains reach farmers, AMCOs, processors, and the wider sector.