Ghana to invest $60m in cashew sector
The government has committed to invest $60 million in the cashew sector, including processing, the Chief Executive of Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), William Agyapong Quaittoo, has revealed.
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He explained that government had approved a $100 million loan from the World Bank, with about $60 million out of that amount expected to be invested in the sector. Also, 70 per cent of the $60 million will be invested in building several factories in the cashew catchment areas, spanning eight regions.
"Government has allowed Tree Crops Development Authority to take a World Bank loan of $100 million, out of which $ 60 million will be invested in cashew. Also, 70 per cent of the $60 million will be invested in cashew processing.
“The feasibility study is being done and soon we will see the establishment of various cashew factories in catchment areas such the Bono, Bono-East, Savannah and Oti regions and other places. It spans about eight regions," he said.
He added that Ghana currently processed only 10 per cent of its produced cashew nuts and, therefore, intended to increase cashew processing from 10 per cent to 50 per cent by the end of the sixth year.
He urged Ghanaians to promote the initiative and ensure it continues even if there is a change of government.
Conference
Mr Quaittoo was speaking at the 6th Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC) conference held at Kempinski Hotel in Accra last Saturday. The conference brought together a significant number of ministers of Agriculture, and Trade and Industries from 12 African countries forming the CICC, as well as experts and researchers to deliberate and adopt mechanisms to make Africa dominate the cashew sector in the global market.
It was on the theme: "Projecting the cashew sector through local consumption, value addition, and job creation". Among member countries that participated were Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique that was officially accepted as a new member at the conference.
Cashew production
Mr Quaittoo also indicated that Ghana's cashew production had increased by about 30,000 metric tonnes per year since 2020, which was a positive sign for the sector's growth.
That, he said, was as a result of a deliberate distribution of about four million cashew crop trees to farmers in recent years.
"Two or three years ago, we were around 170,000 metric tonnes, 200,000 metric tonnes, and 230,000 metric tonnes from 2020 to 2022. “We have distributed free seedlings to farmers; about four million cashew trees have been distributed to farmers. This effort is yielding result and we have to continue with it so that production will increase," he said.
He, however, lamented the activities of foreign exporters who are infiltrating the system and buying wet cashew nuts illegally from farmers without allowing the nuts to properly dry before exporting.
These activities, he noted, were affecting Ghana's cashew price on the international market. He hinted that measures were being taken by the authority to stop this menace to make sure Ghana's cashew regained its status as the best in terms of quality soon.
Policies
The Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture (Crops), Yaw Frimpong Addo, in his address urged his colleague ministers of Agriculture and Trade from cashew growing countries in Africa that there was the need for governments to bear the responsibility of formulating and implementing effective policies that benefited the cashew farmers and stakeholders along the value chain.
He said Africa held the distinction of being the world's largest producer of cashew, accounting for 58 per cent of the global production due to its favourable climate which also provided the continent with the opportunity to sustainably develop this sector through collective efforts.
Mr Addo noted that there was also an obligation on the part of the CICC to provide those in the cashew sector "with solutions to the myriad challenges facing the sector. “The establishment of the CICC, aimed at fostering collaboration among cashew-producing nations to develop our respective sectors, is commendable".
“We have to also work on the quality because as we are increasing in the production, the quality is dropping. Ghana's cashew has been the best for the past 18 years because we spearheaded the research in cashew.
“There is a suggestion that Ghana should be made the research hub for cashew in the subregion,” he said.
Challenges
The Ivorian Minister of Agriculture, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, who chaired the conference and spoke in French, recounted the numerous challenges the sector had faced in recent years and called for the adoption of good measures to curb same to help the sector to thrive.
He indicated that the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Iran tension, and the domestic threats of terrorism and violent extremism in the sub-region were a few of the threats that had threatened the cashew sector.
He expressed gratitude to the CICC for their contributions over the years to continue making Africa a relevant player in the cashew sector. He urged the conference to develop a synergic force of action and explore new partnerships and investments in various countries to increase the production and processing, to give Africa the upper hand in the world market.