The government is under pressure to find alternative sources of funding to settle outstanding cashew industry debts and end the Sh240 deduction from every kilogramme of cashews sold by farmers.
The issue was raised in Parliament on Thursday, October 29, 2026, during the Fifth Meeting of the 13th Parliament, when Tandahimba MP Katani Katani challenged the Ministry of Agriculture to stop relying on farmers’ contributions to meet financial obligations accumulated over previous seasons.
Mr Katani asked whether the government could mobilise funds from other sources to clear debts relating to the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, allowing farmers to retain a larger share of their earnings. Responding, Deputy Minister for Agriculture David Silinde said the government was willing to explore alternative funding arrangements but would first consult stakeholders in the cashew industry.
He said the government and the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT) regularly engaged MPs from cashew-producing regions to review the use of collected funds and consider proposals to improve farmers’ welfare.
‘Whenever we face challenges in one source of funding, we are ready to sit with stakeholders and discuss other areas from which we can raise the required money,’ he told Parliament.
The debate also raised questions about the management of money collected through the cashew export levy, particularly its use in settling historical debts.
Earlier, Lulindi MP Issa Mchungahela had asked how much the board had collected from the export levy since its reinstatement and how the money had been spent.
Mr Silinde said the board collected Sh363.27 billion in the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years, comprising Sh183.58 billion in the first year and Sh179.69 billion in the second.
He told Parliament that by June 2026, Sh349.31 billion had been spent on paying suppliers of agricultural inputs distributed to farmers under the subsidy programme between the 2022/23 and 2025/26 seasons.
A further Sh13.37 billion was spent on development projects, while Sh342.33 million was used to settle claims by farmers who had not received payment for their cashew sales during the 2017/18 season.
According to Mr Silinde, the affected farmers had been unable to recover their money following the liquidation of the former Covenant Bank.
However, Mr Mchungahela questioned why money collected from the cashew industry was being used to settle obligations linked to a collapsed bank, arguing that farmers deserved greater clarity on how their contributions benefited them.
Mr Silinde said the government had directed the board to settle the affected farmers’ claims to ease the losses they suffered following the bank’s liquidation.
‘The Sh240 deduction was among the mechanisms used to finance farmers’ needs, including agricultural inputs,’ Mr Silinde explained.