Ghana’s Official Cashew Season Launch Sparks Governmental Support

On April 5th the Ghana Cashew Industry Association, in collaboration with the Ghanaian government, officially launched Ghana’s cashew season in the town of Wenchi. The theme of the event was “Harnessing the Economic and Climatic Benefits of Cashew; the Strategic Non- Traditional Export Commodity.”

The event commenced with an opening address delivered by the Honorable Alhaji Hakibu Dauda, the Municipal Chief Executive for Wenchi. He commended the industry for its impressive accomplishments throughout 2013, and particularly praised the Brong Ahafo region for its strong performance, having contributed more than half of the overall national production of RCN. These statistics demonstrate that Ghana has become a major player in the sub-region in terms of RCN production and export.

This launch was a significant step forward for the Ghanaian cashew industry. In addition to simply marking the beginning of the season during which cashews are heavily produced and processed, it also attracted interest and provided exposure for the industry to the government and the general public. Stakeholders had the opportunity to use the launch as a platform to critically evaluate the gaps that exist within the value chain, as well as the barriers which hinder their collective effort to improve the industry’s regional and global position.

Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, expressed the government’s commitment to supporting the production of cashews so that it would reach the 200,000 metric tons it anticipated for the next cashew season, despite being an often overlooked export. He pledged that his ministry would support the cashew industry in order to make cashew production attractive to investors and promote it to being the country’s most important industry. Furthermore, he

indicated that he hopes the industry will become more sustainable, advising farmers and processors to sell their cashews locally, rather than to foreign buyers. He concluded his remarks by stating his profound excitement for the future of the industry, applauding the immense employment opportunities that have recently been created across the value chain.

The Acting President of the Traditional Council of Wenchi, Nana Kakabo Adinkra II, called upon the government to regulate the prices for each grade of cashew as it has done for the cocoa and other crop-based industries.