In this series of three videos from 2023, Joël Bagbila, Cashew Coast’s Director of Farmer Integration and the driving force behind our tree nursery initiative, explains why establishing a dedicated cashew nursery is so essential for the future of the sector. Drawing on his field experience and long-standing work with farming communities, Joël outlines the challenges faced by ageing orchards, the need for improved planting material, and how our nursery is helping farmers regenerate their plantations, adapt to climate change, and secure better yields.
Why a nursery?
Today, we are in the Cashew Coast nursery, a cashew tree nursery, where we have established 15,000 seedlings on an area of 160 square metres. The site is 10 metres wide and 16 metres long.
It is important to understand the purpose behind setting up this nursery. In most cashew-producing areas today, plantations are very old, with traditional varieties that are no longer productive. Farmers have used traditional techniques to establish these plantations, which often results in a dense forest rather than an organised orchard. There is also a yield problem linked to climatic variability. All these factors negatively impact productivity.
In our vision of cooperation and collaboration with farmers, we found it necessary to support them by providing improved planting material. To achieve this, we created a nursery using varieties selected by CNRA (the National Centre for Agronomic Research), enabling us to contribute to climate-change adaptation while also improving plantation yields.
It is in this spirit that we set up this nursery in December 2022, starting with seedbeds. We are now at the stage where these plants need to be grafted, a step that has been validated with our specialists.
Grafting
These are branches from cashew trees that we cut, taking their age into account. We then bring these scions here and prepare the rootstock: we trim it and then place the scion on top. When cutting, we select the right section, trim the scion as well, position it on the rootstock, and then tie it firmly.
We will go into the field with the technicians to see this in practice. Once the scion is attached to the rootstock, we cover the entire graft with plastic to protect the system against infections, potential pests, ants, and even drying out, because at this stage both the rootstock and the scion are very fragile. This protection helps accelerate the fusion between the scion and the rootstock.
Generally, after about five days, the first leaves begin to emerge. This is the current stage, and two to three months later we can begin transferring the grafted plants to plots that have been prepared to receive them.
The ultimate goal is to contribute to improving productivity for farmers, increasing household incomes, and supporting the government’s broader strategy to distribute improved planting material and boost productivity. Another key objective is to help fight against, or adapt to, climate change. These aims have guided our entire approach.
We will now join the technicians to see, in practical terms, how grafting is done and how the scion is placed onto the rootstock.
Grafting Technique
The grafter cuts the plant, meaning the rootstock, and then refines the rest of the stem to a certain depth. Next, he takes a scion and prepares it by trimming it slightly so that it fits properly into the slit.
Once the scion is correctly positioned in the opening of the rootstock, he secures it with a plastic strip known as a grafting tie. This helps consolidate the graft and promotes adhesion between the scion and the rootstock.
After this first attachment, he uses another, lighter plastic sleeve, which he places over the graft from top to bottom. As mentioned earlier, this protects the scion from drying out, insects, and potential diseases.
At this point, the grafting step is complete. All that remains is to wait — with regular watering and proper care — for the plant to take. The rootstock now supports the scion, which will begin to produce new leaves thanks to the nutrients supplied by the root system.
