The project manager for the Bono-Asante Atea has advised cashew farmers in the Wenchi Municipality to adopt good agricultural practices in their quest to improve yields and income.

Dr Anthony Augustus Mainoo said most of the aged farmers are unable to carry out some of the important and physically demanding practices such as pruning and thinning out of the closely spaced trees.

He said such practices are done with chainsaw machines and pest and disease control requiring spraying with mist blower machines which are also heavy to carry. 

Dr Mainoo said many farmers do not adopt these practices due to lack of access to equipment although the farmers are willing to pay for such services if offered.

He made this disclosure during the handing over of some equipment that farmers can use to resolve some of the challenges that have been identified in the cashew production process. 

It was co-funded by the European Union and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) UK in Wenchi in the Bono Region.

According to him, the Project seeks to increase employment in the cashew value chain industry for 14,500 women, youth and men domiciled in cashew growing areas in the Wenchi Municipal, Tain and Jaman North districts in the Bono Region.

Other beneficiaries are farmers in Nkoranza North District in the Bono East Region and Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipal in the Ashanti Region by January 2022.

The ceremony was organised by ADRA a global Humanitarian organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with a mission to work with people in poverty and distress to create just and positive change.

He revealed that at the end of the first year of implementation, about 1,500 women, youth and men within the district showed interest in participating in the project.

The farmers have been registered unto the project adding to about 700 others who are being supported with interventions aimed at creating job opportunities in the cashew industry.

Dr Prince Kwakye Afriyie Municipal Chief Executive for Wenchi indicated that the industry needs more support from global partners to boost the value chain.

“There are still numerous challenges facing this industry but the fact that its gains are guaranteed makes it a worthy venture especially considering the fact that the government and other stakeholders are working on fixing these challenges,” he said.

“Farmers in Ghana are very poor but elsewhere in Europe the narrative is different so why can’t it be like that in Ghana?” he quizzed.

Chairman for the occasion, Nana Ansere Asakrah II, Akrobihene advised farmers to keep the items handed over to them in good care.

He urged all to be supportive of various activities in the cashew production process. 

Nana Ansere Asakrah II is confident that the industry will achieve its objectives of increasing access to employment opportunities, ensuring the sustainability of the development of local authorities and increasing income of farmers in the selected districts.

The Program officer for ADRA UK, Daria Markek thanked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the entire value chain actors for their great support for the project.

Also present at the handing over ceremony were stakeholders from the cashew value chain in the beneficiary districts, officials from Agric Ministry, Cashew Desk Officers, Officials from ADRA and officials from Wenchi Municipal Assembly.