Green for Change in partnership with USAID through its funded Feed the Future Ghana Trade and Investment (GTI) Activity has organized a workshop to build the capacity of smallholder cashew farmers on harvest and post-harvest including nut quality in the West Gonja municipality of the Savannah region.
The project will be implemented over six months across six communities in the West Gonja municipality in the Savannah region and directly benefit 300 smallholder cashew producer households from the 6 targeted communities namely Soalepe, Bunyanto, Achubunyor, Jonokponto, Taliorpe, and Busunu.
The Executive Director of Green for Change, John Balankoo Sumbo told journalists that they are focused on cashew because it’s one the fast-growing cash crop in the West Gonja Municipality and that the cashew is a business venture for almost every household.
He disclosed that the income potential from cashew crops is not being fully realized due to low yield as most farmers lack knowledge of good silvicultural practices including harvest and post-harvest management techniques, limiting their ability to increase productivity.
According to him, the project will build on existing structures and work to improve on what other organizations have done by strengthening the capacity of the cashew farmers such that their cashew business will be more profitable.
“Farmers have a poor understanding of cashew markets and compete rather than cooperate at the farm gate to sell to middlemen.”
He indicated that about 300 cashew farmers will be trimmed on harvest and post-harvest management, nut quality including quality parameters such as KOR, nut count, defective rate, moisture content, good agronomic practices in cashew production, negotiation, entrepreneurship, and access to improved competitive markets for raw cashew nuts among others.
“ So if the farmers can produce their nuts to meet this standard and they are not able to negotiate very well with buyers they might get bad offers for their cashew and so we are going to train them on these topics so that they can negotiate very well for better deals for their cashew products.”
Mr. Sumbo urged cashew farmers to use improved planting materials and other practices to get good yields amidst the changing climate.
FROM Eric Kombat, Damongo