The global cashew market size is estimated to hit an expected value of $10.5 billion by 2031.

Currently, the global cashew market size has reached $7 billion but cashew nut exports from Ghana in 2020 only yielded about $340.7 million, with an estimated untapped potential of over $660 million for Ghana’s cashew in shell.

The National Coordinator of Cashew Watch Ghana, who revealed this at Sampa in the Jaman North District of Bono region during the launching of the Amplifying the Voices of Cashew Farmers Project (AVFC), pointed out that the cashew industry alone has the potential of transforming Ghana's economy from over-dependence on development partners.

Raphael Godlove Ahenu stated that "if we are serious as a nation, we could have avoided going to the IMF for a bailout of just $3 billion for three years whilst the cashew industry alone can earn us foreign exchange of about $3 billion annually."

He, therefore, called on the government to take advantage of the current boom in the cashew industry to put in place pragmatic measures that will help revolutionalised and transform the cashew industry as a vehicle for socio-economic advancement.

Cashew Watch Ghana is a civil society platform made up of NGOs, cashew farmers, media and local processors in the cashew industry. They are leading the implementation of a 15-month Amplifying the Voices of Cashew Farmers (AVFC) Project with funding support from STAR Ghana Foundation.

According to Mr Ahenu, the cashew sector has grown into one that contributes significantly to Ghana’s economic growth, particularly in job creation and poverty reduction.

He stated that it is increasingly becoming one of the most important agricultural sectors in Ghana.

However, Mr Ahenu stated that there are a lot of challenges facing the sector, especially the lack of coordination among the actors in the cashew value chain.

He urged the government to create an enabling policy environment that will drive forward the cashew industry in Ghana. 

He bemoaned what he termed "the lack of performance" of the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) since its inauguration in September 2020 as the regulatory body for cashew and five other tree crops.

He explained that "sections two and three of the Tree Crops Development Authority Act, 2019 (Act 1010), the Act of Parliament that established TCDA, is to regulate and develop the production, processing, trading, and marketing of cashew, mango, shea, coconut, rubber, and oil palm in Ghana but the Authority lacks the necessary financial support to prosecute its agenda’’.

Mr Ahenu asked the government to increase technical and financial support provided to the Tree Crops Development Authority and Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to ensure the effective implementation of the 10-year National Cashew Development Plan and effective operationalisation of the Tree Crops Development Authority Act 2019 (Act 1010).

Meanwhile, the Jaman North District Director of Agriculture, Victor Yao-Dablu, said Jaman North indisputably leads in cashew production but the produce is carted and exported annually in the raw state by local and foreign companies.

He expressed worry over the absence of the Legislative Instrument (LI), which he says is hampering the effective implementation of the Tree Crops Development Authority Act 2019 (Act 1010).

Mr Yao-Dablu consequently called on parliament to pass the LI to help operationalise the law. 

He commended STAR Ghana Foundation for supporting the Amplifying the Voices of Cashew Farmers Project, saying, "this project has come at the right time where cashew farmers are battling low pricing for their produce."