Cultivating Cashew Trees
Vichada benefits from the fact that it has the perfect geographic location and climatic conditions for cashew tree cultivation. Add to that the fact that cashew trees (Anacardium occidentale) are native to the region, and it becomes obvious that this high value tree offers a multitude of opportunities to tree buyers, as well as to local people in their socio-economic development. There are on average between 60 to 63 trees in a half hectare (2.47 acres), with a spacing of around 9 X 9 meters, depending on the variety. The trees we plant are the dwarf variety, so they rarely exceed 4 meters in height, making it easy to harvest the fruits and nuts in the future. We use a terminology that is distinct when talking about the cashew tree: the shell is the hard outer layer that contains the kernel, better known as the cashew nut. The nut shell is attached to the false fruit. The false fruit is the size of an apple and twice as rich in Vitamin C than an orange. Harvest takes place in February and March, after which the nut shell is dried in the sun for 2 days, making it possible to store the shells for up to a year while processing them to extract and toast the nut kernels. The fruits are either eaten fresh or dried for cattle feed or human snacks. The fresh fruits can also be used to make wine and liquor, or cough syrups and other extracts. We only use natural fertilizers.
How does the Cashew Tree program work?
Our cashew tree program is currently closed for new planting until we have determined how the current planting will be affected by climate change in our region. This change has primarily been an alteration of temperature norms as well as rainfall timing.
