Togo is a founding member and signatory of the Constitutive Convention of the CICC on November 16, 2016 in Abidjan, through Colonel Agadazi Ouro-Koura, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Hydraulics. Since the creation of the Institution, Togo has taken part in all meetings of the Council of Ministers.

Currently, Mr. Antoine Lekpa Gbegbeni, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development and Mrs. Kayi R. MIVEDOR-SAMBIANI, Minister of Trade, Crafts and Local Consumption sit on the Council of Ministers for Togo, in accordance with the Constitutive Convention of the Institution.

Economic, social and environmental profile

Togo is a West African country with an area of ​​56,790 km² for a percentage of agricultural land of 22.2%. The population is estimated in 2021 at 8,478,242 inhabitants for a population growth of 2.4%. The overall and per capita GDP are respectively 8.41 billion USD and 992.3 USD in 2021, according to the World Bank. Togo experiences two rainy seasons in its southern part and one season in the northern part. The average rainfall varies between 900 mm per year in the far north to 1,100 mm in the south for an average temperature of 28.45 degrees Celsius. The ecological conditions of Togo are very favorable to cashew fruit growing, particularly in its central and northern part.

Cashew sector in brief

Cashew is produced in Togo in areas considered very favorable, located largely in the east of the country along the Mono River basin, starting from Atakpamé towards the north and particularly crossing Anié, Elavagnon, Soutouboua, Tchamba and Tchaoudjo. These very favorable areas also extend into other parts of the Central and Kara Regions, and part of the Savannahs, but interrupted by the mountainous parts of these regions. To the south and north of these very favorable areas, the agroecological conditions are not very favorable due to some limiting factors such as the shorter dry season south of Atakpamé and the harsher climate in the north of the country. Cashew has been selected as one of Togo’s priority agricultural sectors and was the subject of an in-depth analysis in October 2015. This analysis, led by the Ministry of Agriculture and supported by the Green Innovation Center for the Agri-Food Sector in Togo (ProCIV) & ​​the Program for Rural Development and Agriculture in Togo (ProDRA), aims to promote the sector. The areas covered by cashew plantations in Togo can be estimated at 105,000 hectares for a production of around 35,000 tonnes announced for the 2022-2023 marketing campaign launched on August 30, 2022 in Sokodé. Although the nuts produced in the country are of good quality sought after by stakeholders, average yields remain low, between 300 and 350 kg per hectare, due to the quality of the plant material and non-optimal agricultural practices. The share of locally processed production remains below 5% and is mainly driven by the Cajou Espoir factory installed in Tchamba in the Central region. Four (04) processing units of varying sizes are installed for a cumulative capacity in 2022 of 15,000 tonnes/year of raw nuts with a utilization rate of 40%. Exports were 28,300 tonnes in 2022 at a price of 575 FCFA. In Togo, cashew represents the country’s fourth cash crop in terms of tonnage after cotton, coffee and cocoa.

Sector organization

In Togo, 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. In support of these two technical ministries, the Interprofessional Council of the Cashew Sector of Togo (CIFAT), made up of organizations such as the Cooperative of Cashew Nurseries of Togo (COPAT), the National Federation of Cashew Producer Cooperatives (FNCPA), the Togolese Association of Cashew Processors (ATTA), the Association of Cashew Buyers of Togo (3A-TOGO) and the Council of Cashew Sector Exporters (CEFA), ensures the mission of a platform for stakeholders and an interface with the government. Furthermore, coordination and regulatory provisions in the sector have been taken with the creation of the Cashew Nut Sector Coordination Committee in Togo (CCFA) with regulatory texts relating to the status and competence of buyers, exporters, etc., as well as the procedures for carrying out the marketing campaign (approval of stakeholders, for example).

Cashew Promotion Incentives

To sustainably promote the cashew sector, Togo has initiated measures to promote production and processing, which can be summed up as the development of high-performance plant material for the multiplication and distribution of seedlings to producers, the supervision of producers, and some easy access to credit for production and processing. These measures concern:

• Implementation of regulations to promote the marketing of cashew nuts and their derivative products
• Support and subsidy for producers in Improved Plant Material (IPM)
• Implementation of authorizations for the purchase and export of cashew nuts and their derivatives
• The development and implementation of structuring projects for the promotion of cashew (PRODAK, etc.)
• Capacity building for players in the value chain (training, equipment, support for setting up QMS, support for certification, support for participation in fairs, etc.)

Implementation of cashew traceability initiatives, etc.

Cashew Promotion Projects and Programs

Institutions and persons representing the CICC

Togo is represented at the CICC by:

• The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development. Focal Point: Anani Kodjogan KPADENOU, Director of Plant Sectors, akpadenou@gmail.com , anani.kpadenou@agriculture.gouv.tg
• The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Local Consumption. Focal Point: Mr. Talime ABE, Director of Internal Trade and Competition, abtalime@yahoo.fr