West Africa is the world's largest cashew-producing region. The harvest reached a record 3 million tonnes in 2023, marking a 15 percent increase from the previous year (Development Gateway, 2024), with over 2 million smallholder farmers across the region depending on the crop for income. This final part of a three-part review of cashew farming system research looks at how ten West African countries are using cashew and its by-products in livestock production, examines the bidirectional relationship between cashew farming systems and climate change, and identifies the priority research gaps that will shape the future of cashew-livestock integration in Nigeria.
Part 1 covered the cashew farming systems themselves, and Part 2 examined the science of using cashew by-products in livestock feeding.
Cashew agroforestry and livestock production
Agroforestry, the deliberate integration of trees with crops or livestock on the same land unit, represents one of the most ecologically and economically productive configurations of the cashew farming system. Cashew agroforestry encompasses several arrangements, including intercropping cashew with annual food crops, cashew alley cropping, live-fencing with cashew trees, and the integration of grazing animals into cashew orchards.
In The Gambia, an empirical study published in 2025 documented that cashew agroforestry has been identified as an opportunity to restore soil fertility while providing farmers with higher income than monoculture systems. The study confirmed that cashew trees improve nitrogen fixation, soil fertility, underground water management, erosion regulation, and carbon sequestration (Gambia AF Study, 2025). Similar ecological functions of cashew agroforestry have been observed across West and Central Africa.
For livestock production, cashew agroforestry offers several synergistic advantages. The cashew orchard canopy, while reducing direct radiation, maintains sufficient understorey vegetation, including grasses, legumes, and forbs, to support the grazing of ruminants such as cattle, goats, and sheep. The shade provided by cashew trees moderates ambient temperature, reducing heat stress in livestock during the dry season. Research in Ghana's Savannah ecological zone found that cashew farmers are keenly aware of the crop's role as a climate adaptation tool, reporting that, because cashew is a drought-resistant plant, they have deliberately shifted toward its cultivation as rainfall becomes increasingly unreliable (Springer Nature, 2025).
In Nigeria, the integration of livestock into cashew agroforestry systems, while practiced informally by smallholder farmers in states such as Kogi, Kwara, and Oyo, lacks systematic documentation and scientific characterization. CRIN has acknowledged the need to reinvigorate the cashew research culture (CRIN, 2022), and an expanded farming systems research mandate that incorporates livestock integration represents a logical extension of its institutional mission. Cashew-based silvopastoral configurations are emerging as one of the more promising arrangements for combining nut production with small ruminant grazing under controlled stocking.
Ten West African countries growing cashew and their livestock uses
The way cashew by-products are used in livestock production varies considerably across West African countries, reflecting differences in production scale, processing infrastructure, dominant livestock species, and traditional farming practices. The summary below draws on published documentation from each country.
Nigeria
Nigeria is one of the leading cashew-producing countries in West Africa and among the top producers globally. Cashew is widely cultivated in Kogi, Oyo, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, Benue, and Ogun States. Nigeria uses cashew by-products mainly for feeding poultry, goats, sheep, and cattle. Cashew nut meal is commonly used as a partial substitute for soybean meal and groundnut cake in poultry diets because of its high crude protein and energy content. Cashew apple pomace is dried and incorporated into ruminant feed, while goats browse cashew leaves during the dry season. Cashew shell cake also serves as a fiber source after detoxification (Babatunde et al., 2023).
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire is the largest producer of raw cashew nuts in West Africa and one of the largest globally. The country produces over one million metric tonnes annually, and cashew contributes significantly to rural livelihoods. In livestock production, cashew apples are used as feed for sheep and goats, especially in the northern Savannah region. Cashew pulp is often sun-dried and mixed with crop residues for small ruminants. Cashew shell cake and nut meal are also used in cattle fattening systems as alternative energy and protein sources.
Benin
Benin is another major cashew-producing country, with cultivation concentrated in the central and northern regions. Cashew by-products are particularly important in small ruminant production. Kiatti et al. (2024) showed that cashew apple by-products in Benin are highly suitable for sustainable ruminant feeding, especially for goats and sheep. Cashew apple pomace improves rumen fermentation and nutrient digestibility. Farmers also use dried cashew leaves and rejected kernels for feeding sheep and goats.
Ghana
Ghana is among the top five cashew-producing countries in West Africa, with production concentrated in Brong-Ahafo, Northern, and Volta regions. Cashew by-products are used mainly in poultry and pig production. Cashew nut meal is incorporated into broiler and layer diets to reduce feed cost. Cashew apple residue is fed to pigs after drying and fermentation to reduce tannin content. Cashew leaves are also used as dry-season browse for goats.
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau is highly dependent on cashew production as a major export crop. Cashew farming supports a large proportion of rural households and accounts for a large share of agricultural income. Monteiro et al. (2017) reported that cashew apples and wood are valuable by-products for both livestock and household use. Cashew apples are fed fresh to goats and sheep, while dried pulp serves as a supplementary feed source for cattle. Cashew orchards also provide browsing opportunities for small ruminants.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is an emerging cashew-producing country with increasing cultivation in the southern regions. Cashew by-products are used mainly in sheep and goat production. Cashew apple pomace is mixed with hay and cereal bran for dry-season feeding, while goats browse leaves and immature fruits. Cashew shell residues also contribute to compost production, indirectly improving pasture productivity.
Togo
Togo produces cashews mainly in the central and northern zones. Cashew nut meal is used in poultry feeding, especially for broilers and local chickens. Cashew apple waste is also fed to pigs and goats in smallholder production systems. Cashew leaves serve as forage during pasture scarcity, particularly in the dry season.
Senegal
Senegal produces cashews mainly in the Casamance region. Cashew by-products are used in sheep and cattle feeding systems. Cashew apples are often fed fresh to sheep and cattle, while dried pulp is incorporated into supplementary rations. Goats and sheep also browse cashew leaves during feed shortage periods.
Mali
Mali is gradually expanding cashew cultivation, particularly in the southern regions. Livestock farmers use cashew by-products mainly for goats, sheep, and cattle. Cashew apples are sun-dried and mixed with crop residues, while cashew leaves provide forage during the dry season. Rejected kernels are occasionally processed into livestock feed concentrates.
Guinea
Guinea also grows cashew, particularly in the forest-savannah transition zones. Cashew by-products are commonly used for ruminant feeding. Cashew apple waste and leaves are fed to goats and sheep, while cashew shell residues contribute indirectly to pasture management through organic manure production.
Summary of cashew use across West Africa
| Country | Major cashew by-products used | Livestock type |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | Nut meal, apple pomace, leaves, shell cake | Poultry, goats, sheep, cattle |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Apple pulp, shell cake, nut meal | Sheep, goats, cattle |
| Benin | Apple pomace, leaves, rejected kernels | Goats, sheep |
| Ghana | Nut meal, apple residue, leaves | Poultry, pigs, goats |
| Guinea-Bissau | Apple pulp, leaves | Goats, sheep, cattle |
| Burkina Faso | Apple pomace, leaves | Sheep, goats |
| Togo | Nut meal, apple waste, leaves | Poultry, pigs, goats |
| Senegal | Apple pulp, leaves | Sheep, cattle |
| Mali | Apple residue, leaves, kernels | Goats, sheep, cattle |
| Guinea | Apple waste, leaves, shell residue | Goats, sheep |
Cashew farming systems and climate change
The relationship between cashew farming systems and climate change operates bidirectionally. Cashew farming is both impacted by climate change and capable of contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Cashew's vulnerability to climate change
The flowering, fruiting, and overall yield of cashew are particularly sensitive to unseasonal rainfall, temperature extremes, prolonged drought, and high relative humidity during the flowering season. Drought conditions drastically reduce cashew nut production, while unseasonal rains during flowering and fruiting periods cause yield and quality losses. In Nigeria, climate change, manifested through increased temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and prolonged droughts, has played a significant role in cashew yield reduction (Babatunde et al., 2023). Similar impacts have been observed in neighboring Benin (Bello et al., 2016).
In Ghana's Savannah ecological zone, a 2025 study published in Discover Sustainability found that cashew farmers were aware of and experiencing increased frequency and severity of droughts, floods, and temperature fluctuations. The drought resistance of cashew relative to other food crops, such as maize and groundnut, was a primary motivation for its expanded cultivation as a climate adaptation strategy among smallholder farmers (Springer Nature, 2025).
Cashew as a climate adaptation tool
Cashew's inherent drought tolerance, combined with its capacity to grow on degraded and marginal soils, positions it as a strategic climate-adaptation crop for the semi-arid and sub-humid zones of Nigeria. A shift from cocoa and other moisture-demanding crops to cashew in drier regions has been explicitly recommended by researchers at the European Commission's Joint Research Center as a climate-adaptation strategy. The National Agricultural Investment Plan of Nigeria specifically includes activities to rehabilitate 150,000 hectares of cocoa and cashew plantations as part of its climate resilience strategy (USDA-FAS, 2026).
Carbon sequestration potential
Research from West Africa has demonstrated that cashew plantations are significant carbon sinks. Studies from Togo and Benin documented total carbon stocks ranging from 63.14 to 84.84 tonnes of carbon per hectare in cashew plantations, with 78.9 percent stored in the trunk and the remainder in branches, leaves, and soil (IJECC, 2025). Cashew-based cropping systems in weathered tropical soils can sequester carbon in both biomass and soil while simultaneously improving soil fertility and biological activity.
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) project in Burkina Faso explicitly targeted climate change mitigation through cashew plantation development that simultaneously sequesters carbon at 0.33 tCO2e per hectare stored in soils, reduces forest degradation, and provides economic alternatives to unsustainable agricultural practices (CIF, 2022). Nigeria could benefit from similar carbon finance mechanisms that reward cashew farmers for the carbon storage services of their orchards while improving livelihoods.
Livestock integration and climate resilience
In the context of integrated cashew-livestock systems, the anti-methanogenic properties of cashew nut shell liquid offer a pathway to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock component of the integrated system, potentially qualifying Nigerian cashew-livestock farmers for carbon credits under voluntary carbon market frameworks. At the same time, organic manure from integrated livestock enhances soil organic carbon sequestration in cashew orchards, further strengthening the integrated system's carbon sink function.
Climate-adaptive management strategies
Recommended climate adaptation strategies for cashew farming in Nigeria include adopting drought-tolerant cashew varieties developed by CRIN, mulching cashew orchards to conserve soil moisture during dry spells, adopting conservation agriculture and soil and water conservation measures, and integrating livestock to diversify income and reduce climate-related financial risk. The use of agroforestry configurations with companion tree species of different drought tolerance levels further buffers the integrated system against climate variability.
Research gaps and priorities for CRIN
Despite the growing international literature on cashew by-products in livestock nutrition and cashew-livestock farming systems, significant research gaps remain, particularly in the Nigerian and CRIN-specific contexts. The following priority research areas are identified.
Characterization of Nigerian cashew by-products
There is a dearth of data on the chemical composition, anti-nutritional factor profiles, and bioactive compound contents of cashew by-products derived from Nigerian varieties, particularly CRIN-1, CRIN-2, and CRIN-3. Given the documented variability in tannin levels between Brazilian and other cashew apples, establishing variety-specific nutritional profiles for Nigerian cashew by-products is an urgent priority for CRIN's Crop Improvement and Animal Nutrition research divisions.
In vivo feeding trials with Nigerian livestock breeds
The bulk of published in vivo feeding trials with cashew by-products have been conducted in Brazil, India, and Southeast Asia, using breeds such as Nellore sheep and Holstein cattle. Feeding trials using indigenous Nigerian breeds, including White Fulani and Sokoto Gudali cattle, Red Sokoto and West African Dwarf goats, and Yankasa sheep, are needed to establish breed-specific optimal inclusion levels, production responses, and safety thresholds for feeding cashew by-products.
Integrated cashew-livestock systems research at the farm level
There are no published farming systems studies from Nigeria that quantify the agro-economic performance of integrated cashew-livestock systems relative to sole cashew or sole livestock systems. Participatory action research involving smallholder farmers in Kogi, Kwara, Oyo, and Ondo states is needed to document existing informal integration practices, identify constraints and opportunities, and test improved integration protocols.
By-product conservation technologies
Research is needed to identify the most cost-effective and practically feasible methods for preserving cashew apple, cashew nut meal, and processed cashew nut shell under Nigerian storage conditions, including high humidity and limited cold-chain infrastructure. Optimized ensiling protocols using locally available additives, such as molasses, urea, and wood ash, need to be developed and validated for Nigerian conditions.
Methane mitigation research with Nigerian CNSL
While international evidence confirms CNSL's anti-methanogenic activity, no studies have been conducted in Nigeria examining the efficacy of Nigerian CNSL sources in reducing enteric methane from Nigerian ruminant breeds under Nigerian feed regimes. Given Nigeria's obligations under international climate agreements and the growing carbon market, this represents a high-value research domain.
Socio-economic analysis of cashew-livestock integration
Economic analyses quantifying the return on investment, profitability, and livelihood impacts of cashew-livestock integration for Nigerian smallholders are lacking. Cost-benefit analyses that incorporate by-product values, reduced feed costs, manure contributions, and potential carbon credits would provide the evidence base needed to develop targeted extension and policy interventions.
Climate change adaptation studies
Research combining cashew farming system modelling with climate change projections for Nigeria's major cashew-producing states is needed to identify optimal adaptation strategies for different agro-ecological zones. Studies examining how integrated cashew-livestock systems perform under projected climate scenarios, including higher temperatures, reduced and more variable rainfall, would provide actionable guidance for CRIN and agricultural policymakers.
Policy and institutional gap
Despite CRIN's mandate covering cashew research, there appears to be a gap between the institute's research agenda and the emerging potential of cashew-livestock integration. A formal farming systems research programme within CRIN that systematically addresses the cashew-livestock interface, with dedicated sub-programmes on by-product valorisation, agroforestry systems, and climate resilience, would fill this institutional gap and position Nigeria as a regional leader in integrated cashew systems research.
Conclusion
This three-part review has established that cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) farming systems in Nigeria possess significant potential for integration with livestock production, with mutually reinforcing benefits for productivity, sustainability, food security, and climate resilience. Nigeria, as the third-largest cashew producer in Africa and sixth globally, with production exceeding 350,000 metric tonnes per annum, generates enormous quantities of underused by-products, including cashew nut shell, cashew nut meal, and cashew apple, that represent a substantial and largely untapped resource for livestock feeding.
The scientific literature published between 2020 and 2024 consistently documents the nutritional value and bioactive properties of cashew by-products for ruminants, swine, and poultry. Cashew nut meal provides a viable protein supplement for sheep, goats, and cattle at inclusion levels of up to 30 percent in concentrate feed mixtures. Cashew apple and its preserved forms (silage, meal, pomace) contribute energy, fermentable carbohydrates, vitamin C, and bioactive phenolics to livestock diets. Most significantly, cashew nut shell liquid, with its rich composition of anacardic acid, cardol, and cardanol, demonstrates potent anti-methanogenic activity in ruminants, reducing enteric methane production by 8 to 18 percent without compromising animal productivity, thereby offering a dual benefit of improved livestock performance and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, with its strategic mandate over cashew research, is ideally positioned to lead a systematic farming systems research programme that integrates cashew agronomy with livestock production science. The identified research gaps, encompassing breed-specific feeding trials, by-product composition studies, conservation technology optimisation, integrated systems analysis, and climate adaptation modelling, define a clear and actionable research agenda for CRIN and allied Nigerian institutions.
The integration of livestock into cashew farming systems is more than an academic aspiration. It is a practical necessity for the millions of smallholder farmers in Nigeria's cashew belt who depend on diversified agriculture for their livelihoods. Bridging the gap between international research findings and Nigerian farm-level realities requires coordinated investment in adaptive research, farmer training, policy development, and market linkages that enable the full economic potential of integrated cashew-livestock systems to be realised.
Acknowledgements
This review paper was prepared for the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN). The author acknowledges the foundational contributions of CRIN researchers, especially the Crop Improvement Division under Adeigbe, Olasupo, Adewale, and Muyiwa, whose pioneering review of four decades of cashew research in Nigeria (2015) provided a critical baseline for the present analysis.
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