The "Farmer Support" component of BeninCajù project, financed by the USDA and implemented by TechnoServe Bénin in partnership with CRS, has been conducting awareness sessions on "cooperative life, marketing and organic farming" for cashew nut producers since March 2021. To date, more than 16,900 producers have been reached during the various awareness sessions, with 51.68% of the sensitized producers joining. These producers are committed to the process of forming efficient and viable cooperative companies that should be grouped together for the 2021 marketing year, zoned by village and district, in order to be connected to buyers for the sale of raw conventional cashew nuts.
To this end, communal exchange and networking workshops were organized during the month of April 2021, to contribute to the development of commercial links between the groups of producers voluntarily brought together and the partner buyers. At the end of these workshops, a collection of forecasts of conventional cashew nuts was made with the individual producers sensitized. The sales forecasts thus collected are made available and shared with interested buyers as they come in. Also, each of the buyers, according to their chosen area of preference, is connected to the producers and producer groups. BeninCajù's Coach Trainers have significantly facilitated this connection by collecting 1076 tons of cashew nut forecasts that are communicated to interested buyers. The team is more than proud of this. Read more here.

Françoise, a woman in her thirties, was born in Savè, 253 km from Cotonou. She comes from a family of farmers and went to school until the 4th grade. She is married and has 4 children. Very willing, she started the production of cashew seedlings in 2017 by following the steps of her husband who has been doing it since 2016 and who was reluctant to have her kill the plants. She started with plating, which was very difficult. "At first, I grafted 19 plants, 17 of which held up. It was from there that my husband understood that I am a pruning hand. So I launched myself and I had made 6000 plants. I knew the BeninCajù project in 2018. BeninCajù trained us on grafting techniques (veneer and terminal slit) and on the manufacture of efficient plant material, the bokashi which is an organic substrate to obtain rich, green plants in large quantities; this allowed me to realize 14 000 plants in 2020. I also benefited from equipment (watering cans, sieves, sprayers, pots, shovel)." Françoise PELEBE YABI.
In order to accompany the nurserymen and women to increase their production of cashew seedlings and by ricochet, the orchards, BeninCajù financed the intervention of two international experts who taught them the techniques of manufacture of Bokashi, a very powerful plant material which favors the production. In addition to the training on grafting techniques and bokashi, BeninCajù has initiated a professionalization program for cashew tree nurserymen. This program consists in training them on modules related to the growth of their enterprise, how to determine their production costs, calculate their profit and increase their income; the adapted management tools (journal: bank, expenses, sales); the suppliers' account, the customers' account); marketing and financial projection; the growth plan and the financing of the growth plan. The Covid-19 pandemic that appeared in March 2020 in Benin affected Françoise's daily life and activities. Contrary to her habits, it was rather her husband who made all the trips to the markets for supplies in order to preserve Françoise and their children. Read more here.