LE CASSE-TÊTE DE L’ANACARDE

The report details how the cashew boom in Côte d'Ivoire has transformed diverse savannas into 'green deserts,' leading to significant primary forest loss and threatening endangered species like the Western chimpanzee. It highlights a dangerous trade-off where increased cash income from cashews has replaced traditional food crops, leaving rural households vulnerable to market crashes and food insecurity. Additionally, it documents health risks for factory workers, primarily women, who suffer caustic burns from cashew nut shell oil. The authors call for full supply chain traceability and stricter regulations in consuming markets like the US and EU to prevent deforestation-linked imports.

• The rapid expansion of cashew cultivation in Côte d'Ivoire has led to the creation of 'green deserts,' where monocultures replace diverse dry savanna forests and indigenous vegetation, severely compromising biodiversity.
• Cashew trees are allleopathic, releasing chemicals that inhibit the growth of surrounding plants, which, combined with pesticide use, reduces biological diversity and threatens species such as the critically endangered Western chimpanzee.
• The shift toward cashew monoculture has undermined local food security by reducing the cultivation of traditional subsistence crops like yam, maize, and cassava, making rural households dependent on volatile global market prices.
• Workers in cashew processing plants, mostly women, suffer painful and sometimes permanent skin burns and nail damage due to exposure to a caustic oil released from the shells during roasting, often because they lack protective equipment.
• There is a significant lack of transparency and traceability in the global cashew supply chain; many products sold in US and European supermarkets are labeled as originating from Vietnam or India despite actually coming from Côte d'Ivoire.
• Satellite analysis indicates severe primary forest loss in cashew-producing regions between 2019 and 2023, with some areas like Béré experiencing a loss of 25.35%.

APA

Mighty Earth (n.d.). LE CASSE-TÊTE DE L’ANACARDE. https://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/Le-casse-tete-de-lanacarde-Mighty-Earth-2023-FR.pdf

Chicago

Mighty Earth. LE CASSE-TÊTE DE L’ANACARDE. n.d. https://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/Le-casse-tete-de-lanacarde-Mighty-Earth-2023-FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Mighty Earth |title=LE CASSE-TÊTE DE L’ANACARDE |url=https://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/Le-casse-tete-de-lanacarde-Mighty-Earth-2023-FR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mightyearthndcassette, author = {{Mighty Earth}}, title = {{LE CASSE-TÊTE DE L’ANACARDE}}, institution = {Mighty Earth}, url = {https://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/Le-casse-tete-de-lanacarde-Mighty-Earth-2023-FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }