Cashew nut farmers in Ghana are calling on the government to establish a board to control the marketing, pricing, and export of cashew nuts.
According to them, this will ensure that cashew farmers receive the maximum rewards for their labour.
The price for a 100-killogramme jute sack of the nuts ranges between GH₵ 700 and GH₵ 800, depending on market fluctuations.
Farmers are however forced to sell at any price to keep the nuts from going to waste.
A 47-year-old cashew farmer from Apesika in the Kintampo South District of the Bono East Region, Mr. Moses Afriyie, who spoke with said the establishment of a board was long overdue in order to ensure price stabilization, the health of the industry, and the freedom of farmers to plan, budget, and develop their business, which was their primary source of income.
“We want to see some vibrancy in the sector. As it stands now, there’s no board, which speaks for cashew,” he said.
He added, “The government is adamant on the sector, as if to say cashew cannot fetch much foreign exchange like cocoa to facilitate economic growth.”
Mr. Afriyie said, “I have started harvesting and I have to send the nuts to those outlets and container shops, who are the main buyers. Apart from these, there’s nowhere to send them. So whatever price they offer I must accept and dispose of them, otherwise they become waste material.’’
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that data from Our World in Data shows Ghana produced about 82,420 tonnes of raw cashew nuts in 2020. The highest production in the globe in 2020 was in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana’s neighbor to the west.
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