In the expectation to accompany cashew nut producers to a better redevelopment in accordance with the OHADA Uniform Act relating to the law of Cooperative Societies (AUSCOOP), the BeninCajù project gives all its support to the actors of the sector.
 During the month of August 2020, a two-day reflection and planning workshop on the redevelopment of the cooperative movement - Cashew sector - FENAPAB was organized by the ''Support to producers'' component of the BeninCajù project. It was in Komiguéa, in the north of Benin, with the active participation of several structures such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAEP), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIC), the Departmental Directorate of Agriculture, of Livestock and Fisheries (DDAEP), the Agency for the Promotion of Imports and Exports (APIEX), the Chamber of Agriculture, the Interprofession of the Cashew Industry (IFA), the Technical and Financial Partners (PTFs), the FENAPAB networks - Producer Organizations (POs).
For the thirty or so participants, these two days of reflection focused in particular on:
1. A reminder of the context of the workshop and a brief overview of the provisions of AUSCOOP relating to the structuring of the cooperative movement;
2. The presentation and discussion of the different structuring options;
3. The elaboration of an action plan for restructuring;
4. The establishment of a restructuring support committee;
5. The presentation of the professionalization program of BeninCajù ;
6. The evaluation-synthesis of the workshop and determination of the next steps.
 The series of speeches delivered respectively by the President of FENAPAB, the BeninCajù Head of Mission, the Director of Internal Trade Promotion of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, then the APRM Technical Adviser on Takeover Bids, highlighted the importance of the cashew nut sector for the country's economic development. Read more here. 

For women and girls in the developing world, COVID-19 exacerbates existing inequalities and creates new challenges. In Benin, cashew producers like Elisabeth ATCHADE must juggle many responsibilities, including earning money for the household while taking on the majority of duties including childcare.  Find out here, how the BeninCajù project is helping women meet these challenges and emerge even stronger from the crisis. 

 ​Born in the commune of Tchaourou, 359 km from Cotonou, Elisabeth, in her thirties, comes from a family of cashew nut, corn and soybean farmers. Married and mother of 4 children, she traded various items such as cake, peanuts, sugar, oranges, mangoes. She benefited from a half hectare of land from her father since she was young, which she has developed into a cashew tree plantation since 2005. She started her collaboration with the BeninCajù project 4 years ago.
" With BeninCajù, I received a lot of training on good agricultural practices, plantation maintenance, agricultural equipment, etc.... I produced 200 kg of cashew nuts per season. For this year's campaign, I harvested 450Kg of nuts." Elisabeth ATCHADE.
 Elisabeth's income has increased significantly with the increase in her production. Very dynamic, Elisabeth has been noted for her ability to apply all the trainings of the BeninCajù project on production techniques, pre and post harvest. BeninCajù has therefore designated her as a Proleader (Producrice Leader). Read more here.

In 2016, the BeninCajù  project for the integration and acceleration of the cashew sector in BENIN, funded by USDA and implemented by TechnoServe Bénin in partnership with CRS, was launched. Benefiting producers, processors, professional associations of the cashew sector, and public structures concerned with the development of the sector, the general objective of BeninCajù is to strengthen and expand the cashew sector and make it more productive and profitable for the benefit of Benin's socio-economic development. BeninCajù implements its activities through 6 components namely: Production, Cashew Nut and Apple Processing, Sector Policy-Institutional Support, Access to Finance, Gender, and Farmers Support. 
 The Access to Finance component builds the capacity of small and large financing institutions and deals with client outreach. It includes a grant fund which is the Fund for Innovation and Enterprise Development (FIDE). The objective of FIDE is to complement the ongoing interventions of the BeninCajù project to promote and accelerate innovation and the adoption of improved technologies, and to fill short-term gaps in financing investments in the cashew sector.
Two actors in the sector, including NASSARA BENIN, beneficiaries of FIDE, have already been supported by this fund on various projects in connection with producers and the subsidy lines approved by BeninCajù in this regard amount to nearly 150 million FCFA. NASSARA is a pioneer in Benin in the production, processing and export of certified organic and fair trade cashew nuts.
Read more  Here.