Tanzania - Cashew and Coconut Treecrops Project

 Cashew and coconut treecrops project Report No: ; Type: Report/Evaluation Memorandum ; Country: Tanzania; Region: Africa; Sector: Perennial Crops; Major Sector: Agriculture; ProjectID: P002779 The Tanzania Cashew and Coconuts Treecrops project, supported by Credit 2050-TA for US$25.1 million equivalent, was approved in June 1989 and closed as planned on June 30, 1996. The undisbursed balance of US$7.4 million equivalent was canceled. The British Overseas Development Administration (ODA) and the German technical assistance agency (GTZ) supported the project with parallel financing of US$6.3 million equivalent and US$5.6 million equivalent respectively. The Implementation Completion Report (ICR) was prepared by the FAO/World Bank Cooperative Program for the Africa Regional office. Project assessments by the borrower and ODA are attached to the ICR. ODA and GTZ took part in the ICR mission. The project aimed primarily to restore production of cashews and increase that of coconuts. Production of cashews decreased from a peak of 145,080 tons in 1973/74 to 16,552 tons in 1986/87. Plant diseases, insect pests, poor husbandry, and tree stands abandoned because populations were relocated, were the immediate causes of the decrease. Underlying these problems was a dysfunctional enabling environment. By the 1980s the marketing system for cashews was in disarray. Producer prices were low; availability of inputs poor; and time of payment for product unpredictable. Although the technology for treating powdery mildew disease by sulfur dusting was well known, few farmers were applying it, because it was rarely profitable, given the low producer price. Husbandry frequently ceased. Cashews had become a “bush crop,