Farmers Try to Cash in on Cashews

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Cambodian farmers want to grow more cashews in response to rising prices. But lack of information and resources is holding them back.

This year, cashew prices jumped to $1 per kg, compared to $0.75 per kg one year ago, according to Siv Ngy, president of Cashew Nut Association in Kampong Thom, in central Cambodia. He said this year, farmers in his area are responding to market signals and trying to plant cashews on land that they had been left fallow. Some want to replace existing crops with cashew trees.

"World prices for cashews have been rising steadily over the past five to 10 years, and this trend is likely to continue," said Andrew McNaughton, an international and rural livelihoods consultant and cashew specialist.

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