Cashew farmers struggle due to lack of support for value-added processing

Cashew farmers have expressed deep concerns about challenges hindering their ability to fully benefit from the cashew crop.

According to the farmers, the challenges include a lack of knowledge and resources to add value to cashew apples, market fluctuation, limited access to agricultural financing, rising costs of farm inputs, and an unfavourable land tenure system, among others.

The ‘helpless’ farmers say that despite these longstanding issues, it appears that little action has been taken by authorities to address them and improve the sustainability of cashew farming as a source of livelihood.

In an interview, 62-year-old Eric Nyamekye, who owns a total of 70 acres of cashew farms at Nsawkaw in the Tain District of the Bono Region, shared his struggles with the lack of economic returns from his cashew apples.

He said: “I have been cultivating cashew since 1986, but every passing production season is frustrating with the wasted potential of the cashew apples, which make over 80 percent of the crop weight. There are no processing facilities and resources for farmers to transform the nutritious fruit into value-added products”.

Research has shown that cashew apples can be processed into various high-value products like juice, jams and wine as seen in countries like Brazil, where this practice has significantly boosted farmers’ income and food security.

In Ghana, however, farmers like Mr. Nyamekye rely solely on the sale of raw cashew nuts, which fail to cover the increasing costs of production, including labour and farm inputs such as pesticides. “This underscores the need for interventions to support cashew farmers in Ghana to explore value-added processing opportunities and enhance our livelihoods,” he added.

On his part, James Wayi, a 29-year-old cashew farmer at Anukurano near Drobo in the Jaman-South Municipality of the Bono Region, faces significant challenges in accessing affordable agricultural credit, indicating that the challenge hinders the expansion of cashew plantations, limiting the potential for increased production and economic growth.