Expansion of Cashew Cultivation and its Environmental and Economic Impacts on Guinea-Bissau

Abdulai Ismail Seca,Henrique Dos Santos Pereira,Suzy Cristina Predroza Da Silva

doi:10.5327/z21769478950

Abdulai Ismail Seca, Henrique Dos Santos Pereira + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.5327/z21769478950

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Abstract

Guinea-Bissau has recently become the fifth largest producer and exporter in the world of Cashew Nut Shell (CNS) and the product accounts for 90% of the country’s total exports. The objective of this study was to analyze the expansion of cashew cultivation and its environmental and economic impacts on the country, from the perspective of sustainable development. In the methodology, correlational statistical analyses were used, based on multiple regression, correlation, and linear regression techniques. To qualify the empirical results based on the historical series of secondary data, an online questionnaire was applied to nine experts to assess the impacts of sector-specific public policies on Cashew Nut Shell Production (CNSP) and Cashew Nut Shell Export (CNSE). Finally, geoprocessing techniques were used to identify the deforestation trends in the country (2002-2018). As main results, it was verified that from 2000 to 2015, the CNSE accounted for an average of 8.9% of the country’s GDP. As for environmental impacts, it was found that between 2002 and 2012, the country’s deforestation was explained by the CNSP (p < 0.001 and R² = 0.91), whereas between 2013 and 2017, although positively associated, the relationship was not significant. Geoprocessed data on vegetation cover indicate that from 2002 to 2018, accumulated deforestation was intensified mainly in the southern and northern regions of the country. To make full use of cashew, a greater effort is needed from the Government and the productive sectors, which would allow the sustainable development of the sector and a substantial increase in the production of other crops.

Highlights

IntroductionCashew has become the main agricultural product of Guinea-Bissau. The export of cashew nut shells (CNS) varies from 85% to 90% of the country’s total exports, with India as the main buyer country (FMI, 2015)
In recent years, cashew has become the main agricultural product of Guinea-Bissau
According to the analysis made with the R software, the stepAIC test of the multiple regression model eliminated the national price variable, as it has no impact on the Cashew Nut Shell Production (CNSP) and has an individual significance value of 0.63, which is a value greater than 0.05 (Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

Cashew has become the main agricultural product of Guinea-Bissau. The export of cashew nut shells (CNS) varies from 85% to 90% of the country’s total exports, with India as the main buyer country (FMI, 2015). In view of the growing international demand for CNS and the government’s incentive, the cultivation of cashew (Anacardium occidentale Lynn.) became the main economic activity of the rural families that compose most of the population. The production is manually carried out, and the effort to increase productivity only occurs by expanding the agricultural land area used to grow cashews. Most of the displacement of land use occurred from high-income countries to low-income countries (Weinzettel et al, 2013), with the recent expansion of export-oriented commodity crops causing largescale deforestation in the humid tropics (Rudel et al, 2009). From 2000 to 2011, 40% of tropical deforestation came from the production of agricultural commodities (Henders et al, 2015). Brazil and Indonesia were responsible for 61% of the global tropical deforestation from 2000 to 2005, largely associated with the expansion of soybean production, pastures for cattle, and oil palm plantations (Defries et al, 2010)

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