Cashew growers in the country are likely to get a national-level association to take care of their interests. A group of cashew growers, experts and representatives from the cooperative sector held a meeting at Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, recently, stressing on the need to set up an ‘all-India cashew growers’ association’.

Mohana GS, a Senior Scientist at the Puttur-based Directorate of Cashew Research (DCR), told BusinessLine that the proposed association would act as a voice of farmers at the State and national levels. However, he made it clear that the directorate is only facilitating such a move.

Though the cashew crop is gaining the attention of farmers across the country, there is no association of growers at national-level. The proposed association will act as a voice of farmers at national-level and will also be a bridge between growers in different states. It will also help liaise between growers and various line departments related to cashew, he said.

The association will help impart knowledge to farmers on various technological advances in the sector. It also wants to encourage promotion of farmer producers’ organisations (FPOs) .

Asked how the proposed association is planning to bring farmers from different parts of the country under its network, he said DCR has 14 All-India Coordinated Research Project on Cashew centres across the country. These centres are connected with several growers in their respective areas of operations. The association will get the help of these centres in creating awareness about the need for such an association at the national level, he said.

Growers in some parts of the country have their own associations at the local and regional levels. They will be encouraged to become a part of the national body of growers, he said.

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