THE government has continued to promote cashew nut farming across the country by providing subsidised agricultural inputs including in newly identified cashew-producing regions such as Tabora. Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr David Silinde told the National Assembly on Thursday that in 2024/2025 farming season, the government distributed a total of 7,700 kilogrammes and 96,120 litres of pesticides to new cashew-producing regions, including Tabora. He added that 720,931 cashew seedlings and 11,710 kilogrammes of improved cashew seeds had also been supplied to local authorities in new regions that had formally requested the inputs. Mr Silinde was responding to a question from Tabora North MP, Mr Athuman Maige who sought to know whether the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania has a plan to extend subsidised inputs to farmers in regions newly venturing into cashew farming. In a supplementary question, Mr Maige raised concern over the lack of knowledge among farmers in such regions and asked when the government intends to launch dedicated training programmes on cashew farming. In response, the deputy minister acknowledged the knowledge gap and assured the House that the government has programmes in place for educating farmers, particularly in new cashewgrowing areas. “We will intensify training efforts, especially targeting new farmers in these regions, so as to increase participation and productivity,” he said. On another concern raised by Mr Maige regarding the lack of a reliable market in Tabora, which forces farmers to travel to Manyoni to sell their produce Mr Silinde admitted that marketing challenges persist in the new regions due to still-limited production volumes. “Indeed, the absence of a local cashew market has been a challenge. However, the government has plans to establish a new cashew market in Tabora as production grows. This will follow the example of the Manyoni market and help serve farmers in the area,” he said. He assured the lawmakers that the establishment of the new market is part of the government’s strategic plan to support cashew farming in emerging regions