Cashew farmers inaugurate association

Wenchi (B/A) Sept. 1 GNA - About 220 cashew farmers in the Wenchi district of Brong-Ahafo region have come together to form an association in order that they would be able to coordinate ideas that would enhance their farming activities to enable them to improve upon their standard of living.

The executives of the association include Madam Ahmed Amadu, president, Mr. Kwaku Adu Chairman, Mr. King Yab secretary, Miss Martha Tuffour, treasurer and Mr. Abdulai Yussif, field officer. In an address read on her behalf Madam Ibrahim Farizana Bintu, District Chief Executive (DCE), commended the farmers for seeing themselves as one people and therefore forming the association to initiate programmes that would improve into their socio-economic lives. She assured them that the district assembly would do well to offer them the necessary support that would enable them to expand their farms and also manage them very well as that would help to enhance the development of the communities.

The DCE stressed the need for them to maintain their cooperative spirit so as to make the association viable to enable them to attract assistance from government to promote their activities. Mr. William Baah, agriculture scheduled officer for cashew development in the Wenchi and Tain districts explained that with the assistance from the African Development Bank, government had been providing credit facilities to the cashew farmers in the two districts and that since 2004, about 1,241 of the farmers had benefited from the facility.

He said the beneficiaries were made up of 898 males and 343 females and they received between one to two million cedis each. He stressed the need for the farmers, who enjoyed such loans to repay them on schedule in order to continue to benefit from the package at all times.

The Wenchi district cooperative officer, Mr. Antwi Kusi, who presented certificate of registration to the farmers urged the executive members of the association to be very transparent in their financial management and other activities to enable them to win the respect of the members.

In a welcoming address, Mr. King Yab, Secretary of the Association praised the farmers for realising the need for them to come together and said it was very interesting that the association which was started in 2000 and with 25 members now has 220 members.

He was grateful to Care International, an NGO for offering the members a number of training workshops, which enable them to manage their farms and also prevent them against destruction by bushfires. Mr. Yab also appreciated the efforts of Opportunity

Industrialisation Center (OIC) and an NGO for educating the farmers on pest and diseases control as well as planting technology and marketing strategies and they were managing their farm projects effectively. Nana Kwaku Yeboah Wenchi, district chief farmer called on the farmers to pay much attention to the advice they would receive from the agriculture extension officers so as to boost their agricultural productivity.

He urged them to arrange a stable price for cashew nuts in order that they would get better market for their produce.