Yaw Frimpong Addo
THE NEW Patriotic Party government under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo has redeemed its manifesto pledge to cashew farmers by fixing cashew producer price.
This is the first time that producer price for the crop, like is done for cocoa, is being done in the history of the country.
Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo, making the announcement said the producer price per kilo of cashew for the 2022 crop season is GH¢5.02 minimum.
Addressing stakeholders including cashew farmers, buyers, processors, aggregators, exporters and members of the Tree Crop Development Authority at Wenchi Midwifery and Nursing Training College, the Deputy Minister said the Tree Crop Development Authority in pecking the price at GH¢5.02 did broad consultation with all stakeholders including international partners and asked the farmers to accept the price for a start.
He explained that the GH¢5.02 minimum farm gate price meant no buyer from now on could buy cashew per kilo below GH¢5 as it used be in the unregulated market.
“What this therefore, means is that, depending on parameters for the pricing, farmers can bargain for a higher price if they met the standard conditions set up by the authority. These parameters include the fact that raw cashew nut moisture content must not be more than 10%, 48 kernel quality output ratio per 190 nut counts maximum,” he explained.
The Deputy Minister, who is also the MP for Manso Adubia, said with cashew price now set for 2022 crop season, it is expected that 300,000 metric tonnes of cashew will be exported for the season, out of which 30,000 metric tonnes shall be processed into kernels for export through the ports for the same season.
The Chief Executive Officer for Tree Crops Development Authority, William Quaittoo said the mandate of his authority is to regulate prices and ensure cashew standard are high among other tree crops.
“We needed to gather several factors to be able to determine the price. The cashew producer price is minimum price and is not fixed price like cocoa,” he explained.
The Tree Crops Development Authority as established by the President is to ensure there is proper tree crops development and regulation for rubber, mango, shea nut, and cashew, apart from cocoa and coffee, and the expectation is to rake in an estimated $2 billion annually.
The National President of Cashew Farmers Association of Ghana, Alhaji Adams, described the day as historic saying it was the first time that price of cashew had been fixed.
“Cashew is not only an economic activity but also serves as an employment avenue for the youth. Cashew also served as a tool to fighting climate change so I would urge the farmers to accept the price since this is the beginning of greater things to come,” he said.
The Wenchi Municipal Chief Executive, Alexander Obour Damoah was happy Wenchi has benefitted a lot from government’s cashew initiatives and programmes, and asked the youth to take up the challenge by engaging in cashew plantation to get maximum benefits.
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Wenchi