Accra: Ghana is positioning cashew as a strategic crop for its agricultural transformation agenda, aiming to build a value-added industry that creates rural jobs and retains wealth in the country while enhancing the livelihoods of value-chain players. The move transcends the country, as Ghana seeks to collaborate with its neighboring African cashew-producing countries to overturn the processing of only about 20 percent of the crop, despite producing 58 percent of the world's raw cashew.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, in a speech read on his behalf at the opening of the 2026 African Cashew Alliance (ACA) annual conference in Accra, stated that the government was committed to creating a thriving environment for the cashew ecosystem. He emphasized a focus on building a productive, competitive, sustainable, value-added cashew industry that addresses productivity constraints, quality planting materials, and post-harvest handling, while ensuring climate resilience.
Mr. Opoku highlighted that Ghana's cashew sector had expanded considerably, becoming an important source of income for farming communities, particularly in the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Savannah, and other suitable regions. He noted that for millions of Ghanaian and African farmers, cashew provided income and an important pathway out of poverty, with processing being a catalyst to transform rural livelihoods. "We recognize that increasing production alone is not sufficient; processing should not be seen only as an industrial activity, it is also a rural transformation opportunity," Mr. Opoku said.
He further stated the need for investment in modern processing facilities, energy and water infrastructure, storage and warehousing, packaging, logistics, quality laboratory, and technology adaptation. Mr. Opoku reaffirmed the government's commitment to creating a conducive environment through appropriate policies, regulatory institutions, research, extension, and partnerships with the private sector for sustainable cashew growth.
Dr. Rich Kofi Koffituo, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), emphasized Ghana's commitment to strengthening regulation, farmer registration, quality assurance, and market linkages to improve productivity. The TCDA is working to strengthen processor capacity and facilitate greater linkages between producers and processors to make value chains more efficient. "The objective here is clear; to build a cashew industry that is productive, competitive, sustainable, and capable of greater value and better livelihoods to our producers and our dear farmers that are within the cashew value chain," he said.
Dr. Koffituo reiterated that Ghana sees this move not only as a national agenda but as part of a broader African cashew transformation agenda that requires learning from one another and sharing solutions. "Let us make this conference a turning point, commit to producing more efficiently, processing more competitively, trading more transparently, investing more strategically, and ensuring that the benefit of the cashew industry reaches millions of farmers and workers whose livelihoods depend on the cashew industry within our continent," he stated.
Mr. Sanfo Ibrahim, ACA Board President, praised Ghana's approach, saying the country had made agriculture and cashew a lever for economic development by creating the right policy framework and partnering with the private sector. He said Ghana's example showed that sustainable growth depended on investment, competitive markets, and collaboration along the entire value chain from farm to market, urging collaboration with all African cashew-producing countries to expand the approach. He touted the resources, farmers, entrepreneurs, markets, and human capital that Ghana had to become globally competitive, calling for stronger coordination, technology, and shared commitment to value addition.