Guinea joined the CICC and signed its Constitutive Convention on September 29, 2017 in Abidjan, through Mr. Marc Yombouno, Minister of Commerce. After joining, Guinea participated in the annual Sessions of the Council of Ministers of the Institution, except for the one in Yaoundé, organized in December 2021.

Currently, Mr. Mamoudou Nagnelen Barry, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, and Mrs. Louopou Lamah, Minister of Commerce, Industry and SMEs, are members of the Council of Ministers on behalf of Guinea, in accordance with the Convention establishing the Institution.

Economic, social and environmental profile

Guinea is a West African country with an area of ​​245,860 km² for a percentage of agricultural land of 59%. The population is estimated in 2021 at 13,497,237 inhabitants for a population growth of 2.7%. The overall and per capita GDP are respectively 15.85 billion USD and 1174.4 USD in 2021, according to the World Bank. Guinea has two seasons: one dry from November to May and the other rainy from May to October. Precipitation is more abundant along the coast, where it even reaches 4,000 millimeters per year, while it is less abundant in the north and northeast, where it slightly exceeds 1,000 mm. Thus, the country is divided into four agroecological zones: Maritime Guinea, Middle Guinea, Upper Guinea and Forest Guinea. A good part of the first three areas would be suitable for cashew fruit growing.

Cashew sector in brief

It was only in the 1990s that cashew cultivation aroused the enthusiasm of a few planters and exporters, mainly targeting the markets of neighboring countries such as Guinea Bissau and Ivory Coast. Cashew plantations are distributed mainly in two production zones: Upper Guinea (Kankan, Siguiri, Mandiana, Dabola-Kouroussa), in border regions of Ivory Coast, and Maritime Guinea (Boké) in a border region of Guinea-Bissau. Most of the areas located on a crescent that starts from these two extremes and continues towards the border with Ivory Coast in Upper Guinea are also suitable for cashew cultivation. This represents approximately 2 million hectares, constituting an asset for the large-scale development of this crop. Given the importance of cashew nuts for the economy and poverty reduction in Guinea, initiatives have been taken by the Government to promote the various value chains of the product. The areas covered by cashew plantations in Guinea are estimated at around 200,000 hectares for a production of around 60,000 tonnes in 2019 with 150,000 producers involved. Average yields remain low, between 300 and 350 kg per hectare. Cashew nut processing in Guinea remains marginal and carried out by a few companies, particularly in Boké and Kankan for a cumulative volume of less than 5% of local production.

Sector organization

In Guinea, there is no regulatory or governance authority for the cashew sector. The latter is mainly supported on the one hand by the ministry in charge of agriculture for production aspects and on the other hand by the ministry in charge of trade and industry for processing and marketing issues. Private actors operating in the sector are grouped together by the Interprofession of the Guinean Cashew Industry (IFA-Guinea) made up of umbrella organizations of producers organized in the National Federation of Guinean Cashew Planters, processors, traders, and exporters structured in the Guinean Association of Cashew Exporters. IFA-Guinea has positioned itself to be the interlocutor of all actors in the sector with the State and to participate in the design, implementation and monitoring of the sector’s promotion policy aimed at increasing and securing the income of actors in the sector. From umbrella organizations to interprofessional organizations, the level of operationalization still seems low to positively and sustainably influence the sector.

Cashew Promotion Incentives

To sustainably promote the cashew sector, Guinea has initiated measures which remain limited to production, including in particular:

• The cashew production recovery plan in Guinea, 2013 – 2015 (440,000 ha developed);
• Fixing the floor price at 5,000 GNF;
• Support for the development and marketing of cashew nut products in Guinea;
• Free distribution of 500 tons of cashew seeds to farmers;
• The establishment of a presidential initiative called “cashew sector support fund” (2020).

Cashew Promotion Projects and Programs

Institutions and persons representing the CICC

Guinea is represented at the CICC by:

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Focal Point: Mrs. Saran CAMARA, Director of the National Service for the Packaging of Agricultural Products; email: scamara@magel.gov.gn
• The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and SMEs. Focal Point: Awaiting designation

Geographical location of cashew production