With the setting-up of the Tree Crops Authority as part of government’s Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) programme, it is noteworthy that one of the six earmarked tree crops under PERD – cashew – has been able to launch the Cashew Council of Ghana (CCG) to serve as the sector’s apex body.
CCG is made up of actors in the cashew value chain and is a platform for such actors to advocate for policy reforms, and is naturally headquartered in Sunyani, the Bono Region capital.
It is also gratifying that the outdooring comes a few weeks after the president inaugurated the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), aimed at regulating cashew and the five other specified tree crops under PERD.
This is a landmark activity for the cashew value chain because the production of the commodity in West Africa has doubled over the years from 800,000 metric tonnes in 2009 to 1.7 million metric tonnes in 2020.
In Ghana, production has grown from 22,000 metric tonnes to 105,000 metric tonnes for the same period under review. This monumental growth calls for proper organisation and regulation, hence the need to commend all actors in the cashew sector.
Without doubt, the establishment of CCG will complement and enhance activities of the TCDA; and we believe this will put the industry in a better position to seek the interest of the entire value chain for better prospects.
The African Cashew Alliance (ACA) needs to be commended for its untiring efforts to improve the lot of the cashew sector as a whole. Their support was instrumental in the establishment of CCG and, as organised as they are, they are in a better position to influence pricing of the commodity as well as policies to improve their operations.
