The Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) has launched a nationwide distribution of agricultural inputs to tree crop farmers, with a call for farmers to adopt improved and climate-smart farming practices to boost productivity and incomes.

The initiative was launched at Mampong in the Ashanti Region, as part of efforts to address challenges confronting Ghana’s tree crops sector.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of the TCDA, Dr. Andy Okrah, said the intervention goes beyond the distribution of farm inputs, describing it as a renewed commitment to building a more productive, resilient and competitive tree crops industry.

The Authority regulates and promotes Ghana’s six strategic tree crops: cashew, coconut, oil palm, rubber, mango and shea, collectively known as CCORMS. The sector supports approximately 1.6 million households and contributes significantly to rural employment, incomes, agro-industrial development and export earnings.

The TCDA CEO said farmers continue to face challenges including ageing farms, pests and diseases, climate variability, limited access to quality planting materials and market constraints.

“We must develop competitive value chains that move from production at the farm level to processing, manufacturing, branding and access to higher-value markets,” said Dr. Okrah.

He said the inputs are also intended to address practical challenges faced by farmers, including limited access to seedlings and basic farm equipment. He noted that women in the shea sector sometimes work with their bare hands and feet, exposing them to snake bites.

“The long gloves and Wellington boots we are distributing will help address that problem,” he said.

Spraying machines, insecticides, tricycles, motorbikes and raincoats have also been distributed to support disease control, mobility and access to farms in remote areas.

The CEO further disclosed that the government has tasked the Ministry of Finance to develop a US$500 million financing mechanism to establish 100,000 new oil palm plantations by 2032, and appealed to traditional authorities to make land available for the initiative.

Meanwhile, the Mampong Municipal Chief Executive, Yakubu Issifu, said the distribution is ongoing across districts in all regions and that beneficiaries would be monitored to ensure the inputs are used for their intended purposes.

He also urged young people to consider agriculture as a viable and lucrative career.

“The distribution is ongoing across districts in all regions of the country, and we will monitor the farmers to ensure that the inputs are used effectively for their intended purposes. I am also a farmer myself, and I can attest to the profitability of agriculture. I therefore encourage the youth to go into farming because it is a lucrative venture,” he said.

The National Cashew President, Dr. Moses Kyere Nyansaye, welcomed the government’s support and called for the provision of boreholes in farming communities to help farmers cope with unreliable rainfall, particularly in remote areas.

Dr. Nyansaye, who owns about 400 acres of cashew farm, said his own experience demonstrates the potential of cashew farming as a source of income. He disclosed that he earns more than GH¢13 billion annually from his farm and encouraged the youth to consider cashew farming.

“Government officials can be fired, but a farmer can never get fired. Farming is a very reliable source of income,” he said.

For the shea industry, President of the Ghana Shea Association, Rabiatu Abukari, described the provision of long hand gloves and Wellington boots as a potential game changer, particularly in protecting women farmers from snake bites.

She said the tricycles would also improve access to remote farming communities and make the sector more attractive to pickers and processors.

However, Ms. Abukari called for government intervention on what she described as high bank interest rates, which she said are driving businesses out of the industry.

She also appealed to the government to limit the export of shea nuts and increase the price paid to local farmers, suggesting that more of the crop should be retained for domestic processing.

“If everything is exported, at the end of the day, there will be shortages in the country, and honestly there’ll be no shea to undergo the 24-hour economy project, especially because shea is a seasonal crop,” she cautioned.

She further called for greater diversification of the shea value chain, stressing that every part of the crop has economic value and can be developed into different products.

The TCDA says its broader goal is to build a tree crops sector that is productive, resilient, competitive and inclusive, while creating more jobs, increasing farmer incomes and retaining greater value within Ghana’s economy.

The Authority believes the 2026 intervention marks not just the beginning of another planting season, but a push to turn Ghana’s tree crops from raw commodities into a stronger engine for jobs, industry and rural prosperity.