Over the last decade, cashew tree cultivation has grown significantly in the sub-prefecture of Seguela (northwestern Cote d'Ivoire) to the point where it has become the main cash crop. The objective of this study is to analyze the spatio-temporal dynamics of the landscape of this region under the impetus of the expansion of cashew cultivation. To achieve this goal, land use maps were generated from the digital processing of four Landsat satellite images (2001, 2006, 2013 and 2018). Subsequently, the evolution rates and spatial structure indices of the plantation were then used to analyze its spatial dynamics in the district's landscape. The study shows that between 2001 and 2018, the composition and structure of the landscape of the Seguela sub-prefecture experienced significant changes with regard to cashew nut cultivation. At the spatial level, the creation process for new, larger plantations has been identified. In fact, a very limited number of cashew orchards in 2001 with only 83 plantations increased to 1290 in 2018. The total area of cashew tree plantations has also increased by more than 7000% to 4,678.5 ha in 2018. Such gain in the cashew nut sector is at the expense of food crops, raising concerns about food insecurity and land conflicts in this rural area in the long term.
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