STAR Ghana Foundation praised for supporting cashew production

The Bono Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Dennis Abugri Amenga, has commended STAR Ghana Foundation for supporting Cashew Watch Ghana to intensify its advocacy work in the cashew industry in Ghana.

According to him, over the years, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have neglected the cashew sector, with no advocacy, but they have now seen the need that policy must be driven towards addressing the needs and challenges facing farmers and the entire cashew industry in Ghana is commendable.

“I am happy that it is not only government and development partners that are supporting the industry but CSOs have also seen the need, because they appreciate that the industry can only grow and survive if the players of the industry have a fair share of the income or earners of the industry,” he said.

Mr Abugri Amenga made the commendation at Drobo in the Jaman South Municipal Capital in Bono Region during the launching of the Amplifying the Voices of Cashew Farmers (AVFC) Project.

Advocacy
The 15-month initiative, which is being implemented by Cashew Watch Ghana and funded by STAR Ghana Foundation, aims at mobilizing and empowering civil society, especially cashew farmers to push state-actors to take meaningful actions that contribute to creating and promoting a vibrant cashew sector through advocacy, transparency and accountability.

The Regional Director for MOFA said the advocacy role Cashew Watch Ghana is bringing on board is something the government must commend them on.

The Bono Regional Director told the participants that since the commencement of Planting for Export and Rural Development in 2018, more than 46,000 hectares of new cashew plantations had been established in the region.

He said under the programme, thousands of farmers in the region were given free improved cashew seedlings and supported by the Agricultural Extension Officers (AEO) to adopt best agricultural practices to improve yield.

Mr Simon Asore, the Functional Steering Committee Chairman of the CWG, in his address explained the genesis of forming the Cashew Watch Ghana (CWG) platform in 2019 which is the initiative of Global Media Foundation and permanently hosted by the same organisation.

He said the Platform, which is made up of CSOs, Media Cashew Farmers and Local Processors, was formed to help mobilize cashew farmers and bring them together with other key actors in cashew industry to advocate for change and promote the livelihood of cashew farmers especially women in cashew.

Value chain
The cashew value chain, Mr Asore said, offers a significant potential for employment and wealth creation, therefore, the adoption of a value chain approach to promote all the actors along the cashew value chain is key to a sustainable development.

Cashew, he noted, has for the past five years been one of the top non-traditional export commodities in Ghana, saying Ghana, in the first quarter of 2021 earned 128.70 million dollars from cashew nuts exports.

However, he said, lack of proper coordination among the various actors in the sector has resulted in illegal activities like the smuggling of nuts to and fro neighboring countries and gave way for unauthorized buyers and exporters to buy directly at the farm gate at lower prices and without allowing proper drying to be done by farmers.

All these, he noted, have contributed to the price volatility of cashew, and resulted in the low level of local processing in Ghana.

He said to Cashew Watch Ghana initiated the Amplifying the Voices of Cashew Farmers project to address these challenges with the support of Star Ghana Foundation at the cost of GHS348,561.

Gov’t committed
The MCE for Jaman South, Andrews Kwasi Bediako, said the government is doing everything possible in creating an enabling policy environment for the cashew industry in Ghana.

According to him, this explains the setting up of the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), which was inaugurated in September 2020 and is now the regulatory body for cashew and five other tree crops.

He said according to sections 2 and 3 of the Tree Crops Development Authority Act, 2019 (Act 1010), the TCDA is to regulate and develop the production, processing, trading, and marketing of cashew, mango, shea, coconut, rubber, and oil palm in Ghana.

Mr Bediako urged the farmers to have confidence in the government since government is working to ensure that cashew price favour farmers.

The cashew crop was introduced into Ghana about 35 years ago, with the Bono Region, becoming the leading producer of the commodity.

Statistics available from the Bono Regional Department of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture indicate that the region produced more than 48 per cent of the country’s total annual production of 170,000 metric tons (MT) of raw cashew nuts in 2021.