Environmental Change and the Cashew Sector: A Case Study in Manding-speaking Côte d’Ivoire

Odienné, the capital of the northwestern Denguélé district of Côte d’Ivoire, has recently undergone an important agricultural transformation. It has entered the global market of cashew production, growing raw cashews for export overseas. This pilot study combines qualitative and quantitative research methods to study agricultural changes in land-use practices, using ethnographic research and spatial analysis of land-use/land-cover (LULC) data to clarify this transformation. The LULC data confirms that agriculture has increased in the region since 1975. Today, local residents report that cashews have become the dominant cash crop in their communities. Preliminary ethnographic research provides a finer understanding of this process by exploring who is contributing to the increase in cashew production and how they are doing so. Such agricultural change, according to local communities, has increased agricultural revenue while creating new challenges for regional ecosystems.