Beyond production, Maharashtra has also emerged as an important centre for cashew processing and export, particularly in the Konkan region. Districts such as Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Palghar and Kolhapur form the backbone of the state’s cashew economy, supporting thousands of smallholders as well as a large network of processing units.
Recognising the strategic importance of the crop, the Maharashtra Government has established the Maharashtra State Cashew Board to strengthen the entire cashew value chain. The Board’s mandate covers production, productivity improvement, processing, value addition and export promotion.
A notable feature of this institutional arrangement is that the Board’s offices have been located in major cashew-producing clusters rather than in Mumbai. This decentralised structure allows farmers and processors to access technical support, training and policy guidance closer to their farms and enterprises. In effect, the institutional framework needed to strengthen the cashew sector is already in place.
Facing several hallenges
Despite this strong base, the sector faces several challenges. Most orchards operate under rainfed conditions and remain vulnerable to moisture stress during the dry months. Increasing dependence on chemical fertilisers and pesticides has also pushed up production costs.
Pest attacks, particularly from tea mosquito bug and cashew stem and root borer, continue to affect yields. These factors underline the need for a cultivation approach that reduces input costs while improving ecological resilience.
Natural farming offers such a pathway. By focusing on soil biological activity, biomass recycling and locally available inputs, natural farming reduces reliance on external chemical inputs. Preparations such as jeevamrit and beejamrit stimulate microbial activity in the soil and improve nutrient availability. Practices such as mulching and cover cropping help conserve moisture, which is especially valuable for rainfed cashew orchards.
In fact, cashew cultivation in Maharashtra is already close to natural farming in many areas. The crop is grown in perennial orchard systems where farmers traditionally rely on farmyard manure, leaf litter and locally available biomass. Compared with several other commercial crops, the use of chemical inputs is relatively limited. This makes cashew a natural starting point for expanding natural farming practices in the state.
Well-designed initiative to reshape the sector
There is also scope to draw lessons from institutional models elsewhere. Gujarat’s natural farming programme demonstrates the importance of dedicated institutions, farmer training networks and cluster-based adoption strategies. Organising cashew growers through farmer producer organisations and self-help groups could further accelerate adoption while strengthening aggregation, branding and market access.
A well-designed initiative to promote natural farming in cashew orchards could reshape the sector. Bringing around one lakh hectares of cashew plantations under natural farming over the next five years would create one of the largest natural farming-based cashew production systems in the world.
This transition can be supported through convergence with existing programmes such as the National Mission on Natural Farming, the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, and micro-irrigation schemes.
For Maharashtra, the opportunity extends beyond agricultural sustainability. Global demand for responsibly produced food commodities is rising steadily, and natural farming-based cashew could emerge as a differentiated product in both domestic and export markets. With its strong production base, active farmer participation, established processing infrastructure and supportive institutional framework, Maharashtra is well positioned to take advantage of this opportunity.
If implemented effectively, positioning cashew as the anchor crop for natural farming could strengthen farmer incomes, improve ecological resilience in the Konkan region and reinforce Maharashtra’s position as a national leader in sustainable plantation agriculture.
(The writer is adviser, Viksit Maharashtra, Chief Minister Office, Maharashtra)
Published on March 14, 2026