Chennai, Sep 13 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government has said a Cashew Board has been constituted with headquarters in Cuddalore to safeguard the welfare of producers and workers and to step up cashew production, leading to a further increase in exports from the state.

Cashew is a major plantation crop in the state. As many as 43,460 metric tonne of cashew nuts have been produced this year.

According to sources, Tamil Nadu ranks fifth position in cashew production in India and is the second largest exporter. The crop is raised on 2.09 lakh acre in the state.

The move to constitute the board will help create employment opportunities in cultivation, and also aid in value addition and strengthening the sector, according to state Agriculture Minister M R K Panneerselvam.

The board has been constituted with an allocation of Rs 10 crore as per an announcement of Chief Minister M K Stalin in the 2025-26 agriculture budget, he said in a release here on September 12.

The agriculture minister will be the chairperson of the board, which will comprise 12 members, including representatives from the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Tamil Nadu Food Processing and Agriculture Export Promotion Corporation, horticulture and agriculture departments, besides two farmers from the major cashew growing districts, he said.

Steps will be taken through the board to decrease the dependency of imports from African countries and work towards self-sufficiency.

Apart from providing the ryots with high-yielding varieties, farmers would be trained in pest management, post-harvesting technologies, processing support, export facilitation and welfare programmes, the minister said. PTI JSP KH

Constitution of Cashew Board to bolster production, farmer welfare and exports while reducing import dependency. Constitution of a state-level Cashew Board headquartered in Cuddalore establishes an administrative and promotional mechanism to safeguard producer and worker welfare and to enhance cashew production and exports. The Board is chaired by the state Agriculture Minister, comprises twelve members including institutional and farmer representatives, and is funded by a budgetary allocation. Its mandate includes provision of high-yielding varieties, training in pest management and post-harvest technologies, processing support, export facilitation, welfare programmes and measures to reduce import dependence while creating employment in cultivation and value addition.