Mr Joseph Owusu, a cashew farmer, has called on the government to speed up the establishment of the proposed Cashew Development Board to regulate the sector.
He said the board was responsible for price control, worrying about the poor pricing of cashew nuts in the area.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Asunsu Number One in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region, Mr Owusu expressed regret that presently, buyers bought cashew nuts at their suitable prices, unfavourable to the farmers.
He said a uniformed price for cashew would promote the growth of the sector and enhance the socio-economic livelihoods of farmers.
Mr Owusu said with the Board a national taskforce could be established to monitor pricing in the interest of all actors in the cashew value chain.
He said the price instability could partly be attributed to the “flooding of cashew” on the local market, with the commodity from neighbouring Cote D’ Ivoire often sold below the required market price.
“In 2025 season a kilo of cashew was selling GH¢21 and GH¢22 but now the same kilo sells around GH¢2 in the season”, Mr Owusu stated.
He alleged that some buyers in the country sometimes traveled to Cote dd’ Ivoire to buy the cashew nuts at cheaper price and transport them back to Ghana to compete with the local market.
“What is worrying and more concerning is that the commodity from Cote D’ Ivoire may have been stored for years and lost its quality,” he stated and called for government intervention.
Mr Owusu said the local cashew farmers also required government support for inputs and agro-chemical–like fertilisers, and commended the government for supplying about 1,000 farmers in the area with seedlings.
Source: GNA
