About KSACC

Cashew industry in our country is facing a stiff competition from countries like Vietnam, Brazil, Mozambique and Tansania. India stands 2nd in the export of cashew kernels in the world. Kerala state stood 1st in the extent of area under cashew during 1970s. But with the expansion of area under rubber, major area under cashew of the state were converted to rubber plantation. At present Kerala stands 6th position in area and in production among other states viz Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Kerala’s contribution to Indian cashew industry is remarkable in the processing and exporting sectors. Currently there are about 557 registered cashew nut processing units in Kerala employing 2.5 lakhs workers, of which 95% are women. The main crisis facing the cashew industry in Kerala is the diminishing trend in the domestic production of cashew nuts which in turn is due to the large short fall in the area under cashew cultivation and also the low productivity of the traditional crop. A quantity of 6 lakh MT Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) is required for the smooth functioning of cashew industry in Kerala. According Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development (DCCD) report during 2023-24 domestic production of cashew in Kerala is 76120 MT, Area 108960 Ha and Productivity 839 kg per Ha only. This huge gap could be bridged by expanding the area of cashew cultivation intensively. Government of Kerala to overcome this above crisis constituted KSACC in the year 2007 vide G.O (MS) 55/2007/ID. And registered under Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act XII 1955 with registration No.KLM/TC/79/2025 on 02.04.2025, Head Quarters at Kollam.

The mandate of KSACC is to expand the area under cashew cultivation in the state and simultaneously achieve better production through vertical expansion by increasing the productivity through cultivation of High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of cashew. The vision of the Agency is to increase the domestic annual raw nut production from 65000 MT to 1.5 lakh MT in a phased manner through promotion of cultivation of High Yielding Varieties cashew grafted plants among farmers and other public and thereby ensuring a steady supply of RCN for the cashew industry. KSACC implements the schemes in association with Departments such as Agriculture, LSGD, Forest, Revenue, Irrigation, Kudumbasree etc.with technical support from KAU.

KSACC has distributed 10117388 nos. grafts from 2009-2024 and covered an area of 48135 Ha. Currently 24067 Ha exists in the field after causalities due to climate change, drought, flood, land slide disasters and attack of pest and diseases as per the random survey conducted by KSACC. A quantity of 24018 MT cashew nut produced by farmers has been shared to the production sector during 2024-25.