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G.K. Nair

KOCHI, Jan. 9

IF the current favourable conditions prevailing are any indication, then the raw cashew nut production in the country is set to cross four lakh tonnes during the current season.

A better crop is expected this year as weather conditions have been congenial coupled with low pest damage level low and good flushing and flowering. ``All these favourable factors could help raise the production to touch even 4.5 lakh tonnes in 2002,'' Dr A. Abdul Salam, Director, Cashew Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), told Business Line. Last year the production stood at 3.6 lakh tonnes.

Dr Salam, who is monitoring the cashew crop situation, said Maharashtra had overtaken Kerala both in terms of area and production. The area under the cashew in Maharashtra was steadily growing and the productivity per hectare was around 1,200 kg compared to Kerala's 850 kg. During the current season, the production in Maharashtra was estimated between 1.3 and 1.4 lakh tonnes against Kerala's output of less than one lakh tonnes followed by Andhra Pradesh at 0.7 lakh tonnes.

Though Andhra Pradesh had 1.2 lakh hectares under cashew, its production is comparatively less. This is due to low soil fertility, relatively low rainfall and frequent cyclones, which are the inherent disadvantages of the eastern coast.

Unlike other cashew growing States, Maharashtra has 180 registered multipurpose nurseries producing 60 lakh planting materials of high yielding varieties per annum and of this 50 per cent is sold to other States.

In a bid to ensure a moderate price for raw cashewnuts, apart from generating employment for rural women, the State Government had launched a ``homescale processing programme''. Already 400 home-scale processing units had come up in this area involving an investment of Rs 50,000 per unit with an installed processing capacity of 0.5 tonne per day, and of this the State Government provided Rs 25,000 as subsidy.

According to Dr Salam, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) had identified cashew kernel as an item that could ensure nutritional security for women and children. This phenomenon could definitely increase the per capita consumption of cashew in India and abroad if it was made available at affordable prices.

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