He makes Shs10m from cashew nuts a year

I am called Erukana Emuron, 67 years old, currently a farmer growing cashew nuts in my home village, Kaler, in Mukura Sub-county, Ngora District. In the period following the overthrow of president Idi Amin in 1979, I came to the village as a way of surviving the economic downturn then.

But by that time, I was an agriculturalist specialising in animal husbandry. I had been having the idea but I eventually started it, much later in 1996, with the 17 trees that my father left behind when he passed on.

Thinking of expansion
The other trees had been destroyed by wild fire. It is from the remaining trees that I secured seeds for multiplication.There are now more than 600 and I have plans of having 1,000 trees to use because I intend to start a cashew nut processing factory.

The only problem hindering my project is the shortage of land and availability of chemicals for spraying as we have to order for them from Tanzania, which is a major producer of the crop in the region.

Today, I am not only able to meet the economic demands of my family but I have also been identified as a model farmer from whom others can learn from to help revamp cashew nut farming in the region under NAFORRI (the National Forestry Resource Research Institute). When referring to the region, I mean, Teso and Lango areas.

Share experiences
But also I have had the opportunity to be part of the initiatives and meetings under FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organisation) outside Uganda, in Tanzania, where cashew nut is widely grown.

This has made my home a hub for visitors, both from around the country and from outside, who come to share experiences or borrow a leaf from my success story.

I hardly have time to tend to my crops and water the seedlings because of the many visitors I receive but it is always to share knowledge with others and then also learn from them. This is because the foreign visitors come from cashew nut producing countries of Tanzania and Nigeria to exchange ideas which are helpful for local cashew nut farmers.

Lucrative market
A hectare of land supports about 30 trees and produces about 4,500 kilogrammes of unshelled nuts per season, which is an average of 150 kg per tree.

A kilo of unshelled nuts sells at Shs5,000 but there is an even more lucrative market in selling roasted nuts to hotels and to foreign communities like Indians, Americans, French and Peruvians within Uganda at up to four times this price.

The nuts are a delicacy to the Asian and European communities. So each kilogramme of processed cashew nut gives me between Shs15,000 and Shs20,000 compared to the unshelled or unprocessed nut.

Currently, in a year, I earn Shs10m after subtracting expenses such tuition and other school dues for my children who are at university and in secondary schools. These are my major expenses that are non-farm related.

Very profitable
I have acquired more land in Abim District where my target is to plant more than 1,000 cashew nut trees two years from now. Two years is the time the crop takes before harvesting starts as compared to other products from trees that people have ventured into.

I am not discouraging people from looking at investing in other trees but there is no other crop I know that is profitable as cashew nut.

From the proceeds, I have acquired plots of land in my village and other places and I have been able to put up two permanent structures and educate several children up to university besides those who are in high school.

Cashew nut is a simple cash crop to take care of, with the advantage that it thrives even in the very hostile climates and grow best in sandy soils. Though not fertile, the trees will still do fine without additional attention and costs associated with use of fertilisers. All it demands of farmers is pruning to ensure that the yields do not drop.

Marketable
Unlike some cash crops, whose market has eluded farmers, cashew nuts are highly marketable because of its wider uses. In addition to being a delicacy, it is has medicinal properties in the other parts like leaves and bark which can be used for the health benefits.

The products are used in industries. Cashew nut growing in Uganda may be an unknown venture to many farmers but it is worth exploring with no competition to worry about.

What is cashew nut and its oil used for?
According to Charles Emaju, Agricultural Officer, Soroti District, cashews are fast growing evergreen tropical trees that reach to a height of 12 metres. It takes only two years to fruit and blossoming takes place between November and January.

It can be grown directly or grown first in the nursery bed before being transferred. A spacing of three to four feet must be left in between.

Cashew nuts, like other tree nuts, are a good source of antioxidants. Alkyl phenols, in particular, are abundant with fats and oils, good source of dietary trace minerals copper, iron and zinc for human growth.

Besides human consumption, Emaju says parts of the plant are used for manufacture of drugs. The outer bark is scraped and soaked to produce a gum used in varnish.

Seeds are ground into powders used as anti-venom for snake bites, and the oil as an antifungal and for healing cracked heels. Patrick Okello, a retired agricultural officer, says the crop is commonly used in Indian cuisine; the nut is used whole for garnishing sweets or curries, or is ground into a paste that forms a base of sauces for curries.

He adds that if farmers can adopt cashew nut growing, which is still informal in Uganda, they would diversify their source of livelihood.

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