The production of cashew in the country is set to improve significantly if Alhaji Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia is elected as the next president on 7 December, 2024.
The Vice-Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has said the next NPP government has better plans for cashew production.
According to him, Dr. Bawumia’s administration would provide incentives to make the production of cashew flourish in order to help the economy grow.
Dr. Bawumia’s administration, he said, would give every technical, financial, or any other support for cashew farmers so that they would be able to deliver for the country.
“The Dr. Bawumia-led NPP government will set up learning centers for cashew farmers in the country”, he announced at Duadaso in the Jaman North Constituency on Monday.
Dr. Prempeh, aka ‘Napo’ said cashew production has the potential of increasing the country’s foreign exchange income, so the need to focus and support the industry.
He entreated players in the cashew industry, especially farmers, to rally behind Dr. Bawumia and the NPP to win the election, since they (NPP) have better plans for them.
“Your lives will change overnight with Dr. Bawumia as the president of the country. He will provide all the resources that you need to boost cashew production.
“I’m appealing to you to spread the good intentions of Dr. Bawumia to your colleagues elsewhere so you all vote for the NPP”, Napo urged cashew farmers in Jaman North.
Significantly, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government has through the setting up of the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) improved cashew production already.
Through the TCDA, pricing mechanisms for cashew and the other tree crops have been developed with the objective to incentivize producers to sustainably increase production.
The model assumes and determines the costs and margins of all the activities of prime actors from the farm gate to the port or processing factory.
The price set for trading for the 2023/2024 crop season was GHS8.10 per kilogram, and it is projected to increase to about Ghs13.0 to compensate farmers and to serve as an incentive for increased acreages under production
This great intervention by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government has increased the exports of Raw Cashew Nuts to an all-time high of 450,000 metric tonnes as of December 2023.
To control the quality of the Ghanaian cashew, which is rated second in the world, the Authority is working assiduously with the relevant government agencies to control the cross-border trade of cashew into Ghana for exports from the sub-Saharan African region.
Also, the NPP government is providing free extension services and subsidised agro inputs supply to cashew farmers as part of efforts to boost cashew production, among other important interventions.
Considering the NPP government’s positive contributions to the production of cashew in the country, Dr. Bawumia can be trusted to take cashew production to the next level as president.
