Cashew cooperatives in Bangladesh's Chattogram Hill Tracts give farmers a stronger hand in the market
20 October 2026
An International Labour Organization project reported on cashew farming cooperatives in Bandarban, in the Chattogram Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
The pilot has supported 1,157 cashew farmers through 34 cooperatives.
The work is part of the project Promoting Gender-Responsive Enterprise Development and TVET Systems, funded by the Government of Canada and running from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2027.
The implementing partner in Bandarban, Tazingdong, brought farmers together to form cooperatives in September 2025.
Putuli Kheyang, 57, an Indigenous Kheyang woman who is president of her cooperative, cultivates about four acres of cashews, bananas and mangoes and harvested about 720 kg of cashews in 2025.
She received about 6,500 taka, or US$54, for 40 kg, against about 2,500 taka, or US$21, before, and earned about 117,000 taka, or US$959, from cashews that year.
Training covered cashew care, processing, marketing, cooperative management and negotiation with buyers.
The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
In plain words
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training — Education and training that prepares people for specific trades and occupations.
Chattogram Hill Tracts Chattogram Hill Tracts — A hilly region in south-eastern Bangladesh with a large Indigenous population.