Mechanized sheller boosts cashew nut industry

Palawan, the country’s largest cashew grower, stands to benefit considerably from the development of an automatic cashew nut sheller.

In times past, Palawan cashew producers were deprived of the added value in processing the nuts because the bulk of the production was shipped out of the province and processed in Metro Manila.

While the setup might be considered advantages to the farmers since their produce were immediately converted to cash, there was no opportunity for profit and employment among the cashew nut processors.

Under the situation, government scientists and researchers have realized that only a mechanized operation in the shelling procedure seems to address the problem.

Thus, an R&D project titled "Development of Automatic Cashew Nut Sheller" was undertaken.

The project’s implementing agencies were the DOST-ITDI, currently headed by Director Ernesto Lozada, and the DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), headed by Executive Director Rolando Viloria.

Cooperating agency was the El Nido Cashew Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

The result is a more sophisticated machine fabricated to increase the labor productivity in the shelling operation of cashew nuts while maintaining the quality of kernels.

As reported by the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD), the equipment has three mechanized blade cutters that have been completely assembled, namely: vibratory bowl feeder, cutting station and control panel box.

On the whole, the equipment is expected to help fully develop the cashew nut industry. – Rudy A. Fernandez