Guinea-Bissau’s cashew farmers march on

BISSAU – Cashew nuts are Guinea-Bissau’s biggest export crop but times are tough for farmers, as photojournalist Ricci Shryock reports. Government-set prices for the crop have been slashed by close to a third since last year, after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the supply chain.

Since the start of the year, cashew farmers in Guinea-Bissau had also been grappling with a tax for the first time – at 15 CFA francs per kilo.

Exporters and traders said they were struggling to buy cashews because of the extra charge.

But some reprieve came at the end of last month, when the government removed the farmers’ tax - and lowered two other taxes on intermediaries and exporters.

The country usually exports around 200 000 tonnes each year, but this dropped to 160 000 last year. And there are yet more worries as the main buyer, India, is grappling with the Covid-19 crisis, says Mamadou Yerro Djamanca of the Cashew Exporters Association of Guinea-Bissau.