Under the sweltering weather of Ghana’s middle belt of the Bono, Bono East, and parts of the Northern regions, cashew trees stand tall, stretching across the horizon on vast plantations.

Like quiet soldiers in formation, their gnarled branches are ready to yield the nation’s second-highest non-traditional export – cashew nuts, a global delicacy with skyrocketing demand.

The sector is full of economic potential is yet hamstrung by manual labour and primitive farming and processing practices. Like many sectors of the agriculture space, the cashew industry is bedeviled by the lack of mechanised tools to increase productivity and for value addition.

Approximately 200,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts are produced every year, but less than 10% is processed locally. Middle East countries, like Vietnam and India, become the destination for the chunk of the aggregated nuts. They undergo stages of processing and packaging, made into finished products.

Senior Research Scientist at the Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. Clement Oppong Peprah, believes mechanisation is the country’s “golden ticket” to productivity.

“Mechanisation isn't just an option, it's our strategic imperative to unlock immense wealth and create better jobs right here at home,” he noted.

The Hand-to-Mouth Sector

Along the value chain, cashew production in Ghana is predominantly manual – from harvesting to shelling, drying, peeling, and grading. Typically, farmers like Agye Sei, who cultivates on a 2-acre cashew plantation in Nkoranza, must shake the branches of the cashew tree or climb the tree to pluck directly from their twigs to fetch baskets of the nuts.

His wife, seated with their two children under the shade of one of the trees, cracked open the shells of the fruit with their bare hands. Spending hours to collect the nut in each fruit, their palms and fingers are bruised by the hard shells and caustic liquid within.

“This is what our fathers and mothers used and taught us. It’s slow work. Sometimes, I can process only 20 kilos in a whole day,” Agya Sei said.

This low productivity is not just a setback; it’s a brake on the sector’s growth. Through the manual production, a significant number of the nuts are crushed, leading to their wastage.

The Mechanisation Barrier

The progress to mechanisation is not simply buying sophisticated tools. The exorbitant cost of machines, the absence of funds, and poor access to rural infrastructure create a real barrier.

“We lack a clear national strategy, and inconsistent government policies, like suddenly reinstating import duties, make machinery prohibitively expensive. Illegal raw cashew exports also starve local processors of supply. Then there's the financial squeeze: setting up a processing plant can cost millions, and local banks often charge crippling interest rates,” Dr. Oppong Peprah noted.

The country lacks large-scale processing plants with the right capacity and consistent supply of raw materials to attract long-term buyers and investors. Most factories established decades ago for the sector sit in ruins or no longer exist due to the poor raw nut supply and increasing operational costs.

There were organizations seeking to train farmers, support them with basic machinery and link to shared processing centres.

“Machines for cleaning, cooking, shelling, separating, peeling, grading, roasting, and vacuum packaging are crucial; they're part of integrated plant solutions that ensure our cashews meet stringent global quality standards. We also have to utilize other smart equipment like drones and IA-equipped farm machinery, which can help improve production efficiency and reduce the time of operation,” Dr. Oppong Peprah indicated.

Policy, Partnerships, and the Path Ahead

Successive governments hinted at plans to industrialise the cashew sector. Under the Tree Crops Development Authority Act (Act 1010), cashew has been categorised as a strategic crop together with oil palm, shea, and rubber.

In 2022, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority launched a national cashew development strategy aimed at increasing processing capacity to 35% by 2027.

“While past attempts at agricultural mechanization faced setbacks due to poor management and a lack of trained personnel, today, it's clear: we need modern machines to boost productivity, reduce back-breaking labour, and stop wasting valuable produce. It's about breaking free from old cycles and embracing a more efficient future,” Dr. Oppong Peprah further noted.

The future of Ghana’s cashew sector depends not only on exporting raw nuts but in extracting their full value—at home. Mechanisation is the way forward, but it will take coordinated effort, policy discipline, and a cultural shift among producers.

As Agya Sei anticipates, “hand us the tools, the training, and the market—and we’ll do more than just grow the nuts. We’ll grow the economy.”

He, together with many cashew farmers across the country, hope the next chapter of Ghana’s agricultural tale will not just be written with hoes and baskets, but with conveyor belts, shelling machines at the heart of the cashew country.