Guinea Bissau joined and signed the Constitutive Convention of the CICC on February 12, 2017 in Abidjan, through Mr. Florentino Mendes Pereira, Minister of State for Energy and Industry. Since the creation of the Institution, Guinea Bissau has taken part in all meetings of the Council of Ministers.

Currently, the Council of Ministers on behalf of Guinea Bissau, in accordance with the Constitutive Convention of the Institution, is composed of HE Mr. Botche CANDE, Minister of State, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Mr. Lassana FATI, Minister of Trade and Industry.

Economic, social and environmental profile

Guinea-Bissau, located on the west coast of Africa, covers an area of ​​36,120 km², including the Bijagos archipelago made up of around thirty islands, for a percentage of agricultural land of 70.4%. The population is estimated in 2021 at 2,015,490 inhabitants for a population growth of 2.4%. The overall and per capita GDP are respectively 1.64 billion USD and 813 USD in 2021, according to the World Bank. In Guinea-Bissau, the climate is tropical, hot all year round, with a dry season from November to May and a rainy season from June to October, due to the African monsoon. The climate divides the country into three agroecological zones. The northeast, characterized by a Sudanese climate with two distinct seasons, a dry season between November and May and a rainy season from June to October. Rainfall varies between 1,200 and 1,500 mm and is spread over 107 days. The southeast, characterized by a humid tropical climate, is more rainy and less hot with rainfall of 2,000-2,550 mm. The northwest of the country has a Guinean maritime climate, moderately rainy and hot, with 1,500-1,877 mm of average rainfall. The two northern areas are very suitable for cashew production, but the latter is cultivated throughout the country, except for the Islands.

Cashew sector in brief

Cashew is the main wealth of Guinea-Bissau and has a strong development potential. Outside the Islands, cashew is produced in all regions of the country and very present on all dry lands. With approximately 300,000 tonnes (2021) of raw nuts produced on more than 513,533 hectares, Guinea Bissau has more than 650,000 producers, 2.5% of whom are women, who own cashew plantations. Although the quality of the nuts produced in the country is of very good quality with KORs of 52-56 and sought after by stakeholders, average yields remain low, and vary between 500 and 600 kg/ha. The vast majority of Bissau-Guinean farmers are involved in cashew production and live there. The country exported a volume of 231,243 tonnes in 2021 and 235,000 tonnes in 2022. 14 processing units are registered in 2022, of which 12 units are operational for an average of 20,000 tonnes of processed raw nuts, or less than 10% of production. Cashew generates 18% of GDP, 90% of export revenues and 33% of household income. The utilization rate of the units installed in the country is around 25%. The farm gate price of raw nuts is between 375 and 500 FCFA/kg in 2022 and the amount of export taxes is 15 FCFA/kg for raw nuts and 8 FCFA/kg for almonds.

Sector organization

Guinea Bissau has a regulatory structure called the “National Cashew Agency” (ANCA). Outside of this organization, the promotion of the cashew sector is carried out 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. In support of these two technical ministries and the ANCA, there is the National Association of Farmers of Guinea-Bissau (ANAG), the National Framework for Consultation of Peasant Organizations and Agricultural Producers (QNCOCPA-GB), the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Services (CCIAS), the National Association of Intermediaries (ANIN-GB), the National Association of Importers and Exporters of Guinea-Bissau (ANIE-GB).

Cashew Promotion Incentives

To sustainably promote the cashew sector, Guinea Bissau has projected itself to 2025 with a strategic and operational plan 2015-2020 “Terra Ranka” in which the maximization of the added value of cashew is included as a priority of the axis relating to the diversification of the economy and the construction of a strong private sector. Among the measures envisaged in the plan for cashew, we note:

• The goal of quadrupling the value derived from cashew nuts to generate USD 550 million in revenue per year and achieving a transformation rate of 30% by 2025;
• Assistance with cashew nut production, which will be organized along two axes: technical supervision of production (yields and quality) and strengthening the negotiating power of producers;
• The structuring of domestic processing activities which aims at the development of a network of medium-sized enterprises through technical, financial and managerial support for processors at all levels of the industrial process;
• Optimizing the value generated by the cashew sector with the country’s commitment to marketing;
• Support for research, production, marketing and processing activities of cashew nuts (Decree No. 3/2005 of April 26, 2005);
• The defense of the interests of producers, processors and exporters and the distinction of the activity of the main players in the sector (Order No. 0003/2011 of April 8, 2011);
• The creation of the National Cashew Agency (Decree-Law No. 15/2012 of December 19);
• The creation of the Interministerial Commission for the Coordination of Border Surveillance Activities (Order No. 0023/GMCA/2014);
• The definition of the reference price for production, the tax base, the requirements relating to the criteria for granting the export license, the certificates of origin (Order No. 26/2014 of February 20, 2014).

Cashew Promotion Projects and Programs

Institutions and persons representing the CICC

Guinea Bissau is represented at the CICC by:

• The Ministry of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Focal Point: Mr. DIOMBERA Kaoussou, Technical Advisor to the Minister of State, kadiombera@yahoo.fr
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Contact: Mr. Fati LASSANA, Director General of Commerce and Competition lasfati@yahoo.com.br

Geographical location of cashew production